


A Demon's Tale

by Glavenus



Series: Demon of the Underground [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphyne Wedding, Bad Puns, Multi, Non-religiously-specific demons, POV First Person, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Pre-Undertale, Resets, Swearing, Temporary Character Death, Undertale Spoilers, at least at first, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 02:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 20,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8871700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glavenus/pseuds/Glavenus
Summary: A demon is interested in living underground.No, not Chara, a literal demon, born and raised in the fires of Hell.However, with Wrath and (to a lesser extent) Lust etched into his soul the same way a human has Determination, Justice, whatever, things can only go so well.Well, it actually went VERY well. Hell, the barrier broke! But, who ever said the surface wouldn't bring hardships?





	1. From Hell

A human body hit the floor, lifeless. They were mugged by a particularly unstable man, and their attempts to fight back got them stabbed in the throat. They were murdered.

Well, not really.

The "human" is me. I'm actually a demon, so now I'm just stuck without a functioning human body.

Left with no other choice, I descend back into my home, where the hellfire is.

After taking a bit to recoup, I start thinking out loud.

"Is it worth it to try this whole "living in the mortal world" thing again? Eh, why not? But I should probably start somewhere else..."

As my mind wandered, it hit the perfect spot as to how I should pull this off.

Monsters.

That magical race stuck underground from one of the biggest human dick-wagging contests to date. A fair number of demons had to head up to Heaven to keep everything moving smoothly with all the dead monsters coming in.

All things considered, the mages won the dick-wagging contest by making that "barrier" to trap all of monsterkind. And even if it broke, the mages never really died. Through some absurd spell, they reincarnate endlessly, regaining all past memories around 13 years old, so they would just rebuild the damned wall. As much as this pisses off Old Scratch, the guy relents as to uphold the non-interventionist nature of afterlife entities. Well, living in a mortal guise wasn't technically intervention, and Scratch doesn't mind anyway.

Regardless, living as a monster sounded like a good idea. I had little to no restrictions on appearance in order to fit in, and I'd even get to take some of my magic with me.

Now, to think up a form.

I decided to take an old favorite. A red-skinned, gargoyle/goblin-looking humanoid with pure yellow eyes and dark blue wings. The form's stuck with me ever since I got the idea from a video game I played a lot during my human "childhood". What was it called again... Oh, yea! Ghosts and Goblins. Wait, there's a bit more, a spinoff game... what was it called... Oh, yeah. Demon's Crest.

The best part was that this wasn't unusual in Hell. Demons took names and forms based on unholy entities present in human religion and media all the time. One can't call any one religion wrong anymore because of how much of a mishmash both afterlives had become, as this trend picked up in Heaven, too.

With my form settled, I had to take a name, since my proper name could not be pronounced in any mortal language.

Firebrand.

Yes.

Now, I just had to get into the Underground unseen. Which would be easier said than done, the magic to do so lacked subtlety.

I settled for "Hotland". The volcanic place would be easy to adjust to, and I wouldn't even look out of place.

With a few hand gestures and some muttering in demonic tongue, I was bursting out of the earth into Hotland.

The sight would be quite horrifying for anyone who saw it. The earth glowed blood red before sundering as one hand burst out of it, pulling the rest of me up.

As I stood up from my entrance, I looked around, and my heart stopped for a second.

There was a stout, yellow lizard monster in glasses and a lab coat. They were trembling so hard, I thought they'd cause an earthquake.

Witness.

Oh shit.


	2. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand has to make sure Alphys guards the secret of his demonic nature so he can live as a monster.  
> Also, lessons in demonic souls.

Without a second thought, I fly at the monster, grabbing them and taking them inside the lab I emerged behind.

I set her down quickly.

"P-p-p-please don't k-kill me..." The poor woman looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"I'm not going to kill you. I just need for you to tell nobody about what you saw."

"O-okay. I'm u-used to lying and k-keeping secrets. What's g-going on, anyway."

"I'm a demon. Born and raised in Hell itself. I just think a life as a monster would be interesting. While we're here, what's your name?"

"Alphys."

"Call me Firebrand."

"O-ok."

The monster seems to of calmed down, thankfully.

"So, what do you do?"

"I'm R-royal Scientist. I'm s-supposed to come up with a w-way to break the barrier."

I nod in response, but, my mind got distracted as my eyes started wandering all over Alphys.

Her scales shine nicely in the dim lighting of the lab. Her lab coat and glasses fit her well, and I always liked intelligence. And shyness.

She's... Cute.

Sometimes, I wish my secondary aspect was Gluttony or something.

"H-hello?"

Alphys's voice (and its beautiful stutter) bring me back to the world, so I shake some sense back into myself.

"Oh, sorry! Got distracted. Also, you got anything that can view a soul or something?"

"S-sure."

The doctor walks off, out of sight. I hear the sounds of rummaging, before she comes back with a small device. She activates it, and a dark crimson heart floats out of my chest.

"T-that's your soul?"

"Yep. You know how human souls have those aspects, like Justice and Integrity?"

"Y-yes."

"Us demons get sins. Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Lust, Pride, or Sloth. I'm a Wrath."

"Interesting."

She deactivates the device and stuffs it in her coat.

"So, anyplace I can stay?"

"There's this v-vacant house not far f-from my lab. N-not many head in its d-direction, so you could p-probably take it."

"Nice. Anyway, I'll be off."

"B-bye!"

After a few minutes of flying, I see a small, one-story house. I fly in, and make myself at home.

The living room is reasonably spacious, with a couch, a reclining chair, and a TV. There's a kitchen opposite the door and a bedroom opposite the TV, which is, to say, to the left when looking through the door.

Good enough.

I lay in the bed, and let sleep claim me.


	3. Undyne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand meets a close friend of Alphys's.

I rise from my dreamless sleep with a long yawn.

Now that I've got this whole "monster life" thing worked out, what is there to do down here?

Hang out with Alphys.

 ~~Maybe she'll grow to like me at some point.~~ No. A demon and a monster? Nonsense.

Not that the Lust etched in my soul is ever going to wholly listen.

Regardless, I fly over to the lab's front side and knock.

The door opens to reveal the lizard nerd, who tells me to come in.

We sit down.

"So, what do you do down here for fun?"

"O-oh. I watch a-anime."

"What all do you have?"

"I only get w-what I can fish out of t-the garbage in W-waterfall, but h-here we are."

The selection is fairly small, but good enough.

After she recommends it for about the fifth time in the span of 20 seconds, I settle on this "Mew-Mew Kissy Cutie".

"Say, Alphys, ya got any other friends, or is it just me now?"

"N-now that you m-mention it, s-she should be ov-"

The door was kicked open.

In the doorway stood a tall, thin-yet-muscular fish woman with an eyepatch.

"Heya, Al!"

"U-undyne!"

The two run to meet eachother and start gleefully chatting about what's been going on over the past few days for both of them.

Wait... the way they're looking at each other...

Well, I'm damn glad Envy was never really a part of me.

"Who's this?" Undyne asked, gesturing to me.

"Name's Firebrand. Just recently decided to settle down in a vacant house not far from this lab. Come on, sit down! Anime's about to start!"

As the anime played, Undyne seemed REALLY into it. Like she thought it was real or something. (Well, Alphys did quietly inform me that she DOES think it's real. I decide not to burst the fish's bubble. Not yet, at least.)

Regardless, the show was... cheesy as shit, but enjoyably so, with some legitimately good animation, especially for the fact it was around 7 years old.

While watching, I was told that Undyne is apparently the Captain of the Royal Guard. Her job is to kill humans that fall down so their souls can break the barrier. 7 are needed, they have 5 right now.

**Sounds like fun.**

Regardless, Undyne starts talking to me.

"Hey, Firebrand, you look pretty tough. What all can you do?"

With a smirk running across my face, I tell her to follow me outside.


	4. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand and Undyne spar off. Also, something bad comes up.

Undyne and I were both out behind the lab.

"Ya ready, Undyne?"

"Hell yes."

I lept into the air, dodging a couple of spears while retorting with a blast of fire. The battle kept up that style of projectile exchange for some time.

However, things kind of changed when I dove down, grabbed her, and scraped her against the floor before throwing her into the side of the lab. She slammed into it with a loud thud, and soon fell.

"AH GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA!"

That's what my laugh sounds like.

As I walked towards her, cackling, she suddenly rose up and nailed me with a spear. I went flying, landing hard on the floor.

Soon after, we shook on the end of the battle, and decided to go chill out front with Alphys.

A couple of minutes later, a short skeleton monster in a blue sweater and slippers came running in out of no where.

"Who's that?"

"Sans." Undyne responded. "He's normally lazy as shit, so him running can't be good."

"undyne... huff... there's a human with a gun who just left snowdin. they're shooting everything they see and nearly killed papyrus."

Undyne didn't even say anything. She just roared in anger before sprinting in the direction Sans came from.

I flew in the same direction. That little shit is already dead.


	5. Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand finds the trigger-happy human, and attempts to kill them.

As I fly ahead of Undyne, I fly into a damp place, with water everywhere. This must be that "Waterfall" Undyne mentioned.

Regardless, I keep going, and soon hear a voice.

"All of these darn monsters are evil. Sure glad I slipped away from that goat woman when I could. She probably would've killed me in m'sleep or somethin'."

I fly low to the ground and hide, watching the human pass. They look to be a child, with a revolver and a rather nice cowboy hat. Regardless, the time of action is now.

I swoop from my hiding place, lunging at the human. They barely dodge the attack, and turn to face me.

"I'll be darned. Some of them even look like the demons they are."

Hearing the name  of my kind used as an insult to a race that doesn't deserve it,

It fills me with Wrath.

I spit a fireball right at them, only for it to be dodged. A chase ensues, and this human is proving to be really FUCKING elusive.

I fly up, and raise my claws to rip them apart. The human fires two bullets.

One pierces my left wing, grounding me, while the other flies up and past me.

As the human runs ahead, I look up to see that the other bullet somehow sent rocks falling down to me.

"That sack of shi-"

Darkness.

At least that just means unconsciousness.


	6. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand and Alphys have a chat while Firebrand is recovering from his wounds. Feelings are revealed.

I'm dreaming. And the dreams are about...

Alphys.

And they're sexual dreams, too.

Damn this stupid Lust aspect.

But... what if the human killed her?

No...

Unlikely.

**********

My eyes slowly open, and I see that I'm in Alphys's lab. I'm strapped down to a table, with a machine hooked up to me, and a screen displaying my soul.

Alphys soon walks into the room.

She's okay.

Thank Old Scratch.

A smile spreads across my face as my eyes meet with hers.

"You're okay."

"S-so are you. A-also, why are y-you looking at me l-like that?"

"Well, ehh..." Looks like it's that time.

"Remember when I said my soul's aspect was Wrath?"

"Yes."

"My soul has a secondary aspect. Lust."

Alphys tensed up and blushed a bit.

"Nah. I've seen the way you look at Undyne."

She blushed even harder

"Besides, a demon and a monster? What are the odds of THAT working out?"

"W-will anything bad c-come of all this?"

"Since there isn't much Envy in me, probably not."

"A-anyway, I have r-research to attend to."

"Later."

Alphys left the room, leaving me alone. With not much else to do, I let myself fall back asleep, hoping my dreams aren't sexual again.


	7. Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having recovered from his wounds, Firebrand goes to Snowdin for the first time and properly meets the skeleton brothers. Sans has suspicions.

I awake from a dream about Alphys.

Thankfully, it wasn't sexual in nature, but I know that lustful want is gonna take its sweet-ass time fading away.

Regardless, I try getting up from the table I'm resting on.

There's nothing hooked up to me, everything feels fine.

Soon after, Alphys walks in.

"Y-you can walk!"

"Yep. Thanks, doc."

The lizard blushes a bit, before I exit the lab.

I decide to pay a visit to that "Snowdin" place I vaguely heard about before.

After a couple minute's flight through Waterfall, the air around me grows cold, and snow becomes visible.

I remember hearing that Sans and his brother, apparently named Papyrus, live here, so I should pay those two a visit.

I fly down to the biggest house I can see and knock. The door opens to Sans.

"hey, firebrand."

I walk in and take a seat.

A tall skeleton walks down the stairs soon after. Must be Papyrus.

"SANS!"

"yea?"

"IS THIS THAT "FIREBRAND" YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?"

"yep."

"OKAY! HELLO, FIREBRAND! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

I doubt this guy has any idea what an indoor voice is.

Regardless, we lay around, chat, and so on for a fair bit of time. I bid the brothers goodbye, and exit the house.

However, I find Sans in front of me.

"follow me."

I don't question, and I've got time to spare, anyhow.

We both walk behind his house, and his right eye suddenly starts to glow blue. I'm pinned to the wall, and my soul, in all its crimson glory, is drawn out.

"I know you're not a monster."

**S T A R T T A L K I N G**

"GAH! Fine! I'm actually a demon! No, literally, born and raised in Hell! I just thought a life as a monster would be interesting pleasedon'tdestroymybodyokaythanks!"

My soul is let back into me, I gently fall to the ground, and Sans's eye loses its glow.

"okay, firebrand. i'll trust you, and not tell anyone you're a demon."

"Thanks."

"no prob. later."

"Bye."

Note to self: do NOT fuck with Sans.


	8. MTT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand meets Alphys's greatest creation. Also, something comes up.

I woke up, left my house, and headed to Alphys's.

After being let in, I watched anime for a bit, before the door abruptly opened to a... calculator with arms on a wheel?

"I'm back, Alphys!"

"Oh, h-hi, Mettaton."

The robot rolled up to me.

"Aaaaand is this handsome devil that "Firebrand" I've heard about?" 

"Yep. Now get out of my face."

Mettaton (thankfully) backed away a bit, before continuing.

"I've been eager to meet you, darling! I've heard that you're not exactly a monster!"

"That would be correct. I'm a demon. Also, call me "darling" again, and I'll rip your mic hand clean off."

"A DEMON? Sounds positively SCANDALOUS!"

"Ya know, Metty, if I didn't like Alphys so much, I'd probably be turning your pompous ass to slag."

Nothing I said could make the damn robot let up, so I just silently tolerated his crap until he left to do another show.

"His body is probably a mechanical marvel, but any particular reason you gave him such an obnoxious character?"

"I-it's a good fit f-for "showbiz"."

"Can't argue with that logic. Say, Alphys, wanna watch those cameras of yours to see if we catch anyone failing at life?"

"Sure."

Through the cameras, we saw Doggo crying for a good 5 minutes after dropping his treats in a deep hole, Dogamy and Dogaressa having a digging contest, and Lesser Dog running around with their neck as long as the typical sentry station is tall. (that apparently happens when one pets Lesser Dog enough.)

However, as we flipped to Waterfall, we saw a human walking into Hotland.

If they got this far.. They must of sneaked past the K9 unit, but what about...

Undyne...

I sat up, kicked the lab door open, and took flight.

Monsterkind will run free, non-intervention policy be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Undyne is not dead. Not that Firebrand knows.


	9. Intermission: Back in Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ruler of Hell is informed of Firebrand's actions.

In the depths of Hell, a shadowed figure sat atop a throne of black iron, surrounded by hellfire and brimstone.

The different Rulers of Hell have taken a variety of names, although "Prince of Darkness" and "Old Scratch" are universal terms for the ruler.

This particular ruler takes the name Demogorgon.

Another demon enters Demogorgon's throne room hastily, before kneeling before the ruler.

"Demogorgon, sir,"

"Yes?"

"That "Firebrand" living among the monsters, he plans to intervene in their affairs."

"How so?"

"He seeks to kill the 7th human to fall, giving monsterkind enough souls to break the barrier, sir."

Demogorgon went silent for what seemed like hours, contemplating, before making his decree.

"Leave Firebrand be. Monsterkind deserves freedom, and Firebrand may as well be one of them now, anyway. Also, have the angels caught on to this?"

"Yes, sir. They actually express similar approval."

"Good. As a matter of fact, if we are letting Firebrand slide, perhaps the time to finally brings those reincarnating barrier mages to their afterlives will soon be upon us."

"Understood, sir."

The smaller demon scurried away, leaving Demogorgon alone to contemplate the future.


	10. Frisk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand and Frisk meet on... less than friendly terms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next will be 2nd person from Frisk's view.

You have no idea how you were alive.

When she first attacked you, you thought for sure Undyne would be your end, but you were able to outrun her.

And the way she looked at you after you saved her... was she no longer out to kill you? Could she be a good friend?

Actually, all of the monsters down here seem to be nice people when they aren't trying to kill you to free their kind from centuries of imprisonment.

However, you were soon torn from your thoughts by the sound of beating wings.

You looked up to see a red, gargoyle-like monster flying towards you, landing before you with a glare. This was probably that "Firebrand" Sans told you about.

"What did you do to Undyne?" Firebrand hissed out.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw how you were able to sneak past the K9 unit. But Undyne is too vigilant. And there's no way in Hell she let you go! SHE'S TOO DEDICATED!" You shivered at the amount of anger present in the monster's voice.

"I-i haven't killed anyone!"

"Even if you ARE as innocent as you say, your soul is the key to hope for us! I hope you're prepared!"

<3

**Firebrand blocks the way!**

<3 ACT

<3 CHECK

**Firebrand**

**ATK:61**

**DEF:38**

**Something seems... off about this gargoyle monster.**

Firebrand spat fire at the ground, causing it to explode into a wave towards you. You dodge to the right.

**Firebrand cackles.**

"Ah gya gya gya gya gya!"

<3 ACT

<3 PLEAD

**You tell Firebrand you don't want to fight.**

"I do not care. I will not rest until one of us is dead!"

Firebrand took to the sky and swooped at you. His talons raked into your shoulder. He swooped a second time, to end where he started, but you dodged.

HP:15/20

**Firebrand looks angrier than before.**

<3 ACT

<3 PLEAD

**You tell Firebrand you haven't killed anyone.**

"Even if you somehow got past Undyne without killing her, I won't let monsterkind suffer any longer!"

Firebrand swooped at you again, but this time, he grabbed you, scraped you against the ground, and threw you against a wall.

HP:6/20

**Firebrand looks even more infuriated.**

<3 ITEM

<3 NICE CREAM

**You look spiffy!**

**Your HP fully recovered!**

"How about you stop dodging and eating... AND FUCKING DIE ALREADY!"

Firebrand breathed an intense jet of flame back and forth. You were able to dodge.

**Firebrand is twitching involuntarily.**

<3 ACT

<3 PLEAD

You tell Firebrand he doesn't need to kill you.

"SILENCE, WORM! Don't you get it? You die, millions are happier for it! Shut the fuck up and die! YOU MOTHERFUCKINGPIECEOF-"

Firebrand devolves into incoherent yelling.

He starts to radiate crimson energy.

"What the-"

You leap back as crags develop in his skin, burning with crimson fire as his skin takes on a texture like obsidian.

Firebrand stops screaming to glare at you with his new form, his eyes the same dark crimson as the fire.

"You've been playing with fire for a bit, now, insect. But now... YOU PLAY WITH HELLFIRE!"


	11. Hellfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand puts his proper demonic might to use against Frisk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remains 2nd person Frisk until the **********, at which point it's back to 1st person Firebrand, only for it to change to 3rd by the end of the chapter.  
> Also, this is my favorite chapter from everything I've written so far.

A/N: [Music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq8DI-4TRU8)

**Smells like brimstone.**

<3 ACT

<3 CHECK

**Firebrand, Wrath Incarnate**

**ATK:616**

**DEF:308**

**Genuine Demon. Could literally drag you to hell if he wanted to.**

"Here, before I end you, take this!"

Firebrand flung an odd energy at you.

**Your max HP increased to 40!**

**Your HP was maxed out!**

"It's no fun if you die quickly!"

Firebrand then let loose a jet of flame towards your feet. You jumped out of the way, only to be caught off guard as fire erupts from beneath you, seemingly burning your very soul.

**HP:25/40**

**Your skin feels like it's sizzling in the heat.**

<3 ACT

<3 PLEAD

**You tell Firebrand you won't kill anyone for sure if he lets you go.**

"How can I know you won't just turn around and betray us?"

Firebrand dug his claws into the ground, causing cracks to flow towards you. You get out of the way, to see fire erupt from those cracks.

**Firebrand flashes a malicious grin.**

<3 ACT

<3 CALL

**You call for help.**

"Like any monster would help you!"

Firebrand created a duplicate. The two flew a bit apart, before simultaneously swooping at you. You dodged both the first time around, only to be hit on their return trip, their talons leaving deep cuts in your shoulders.

The two Firebrands merged back together.

**HP:9/40**

**Firebrand cackles manically.**

"AH GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYAHAHAHA!"

<3 ACT

<3 CALL

**You called for help.**

**You think you heard very distant footsteps.**

Firebrand spat several fireballs into the air, which came raining down on you. You were able to dodge most, but you tripped, causing the last one to hit you right in the stomach.

**HP:1/40**

**The Flames of Hell crackle.**

<3 ITEM

<3 CRAB APPLE

**Firebrand blasts the food out of your hand with a fireball.**

"NO! ACCEPT YOUR FATE!"

<3 ACT

<3 CALL

**You called for help.**

**The footsteps sound closer.**

Firebrand lit the ground around you, except right in front, aflame, trapping you.

**********

This was it.

I finally had the human right where I wanted them.

"So ends the tale of the 7th human!"

I prepared a final jet of flame.

"So begins the revenge of monsterkind!"

I was ready.

"AH GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA!"

"F-FIREBRAND!"

Wait, was that-

Alphys.

She came running in, putting herself between me and the human.

"What are you doing?"

"W-what if the h-human can help b-break the barrier without d-dying?"

"Better safe than sorry! NOW MOVE!"

"NO!"

She screamed louder than I ever heard.

Wait.. there had to be a perfect angle of attack to slip past her and kill the human...

Found it!

I rose my claw, and lunged at the right angle.

It was just as expected. The human was-

Alphys hugged me.

"Ack! Alphys, what are you-"

She kissed me on the cheek.

I could feel the wrath draining from my being. Maybe the human was worth sparing, after all. Regardless, I decided it was worth the kiss as I collapsed into unconsciousness from exiting my wrathful state, my form losing its menacing makeover.

*********

The lizard monster turned around to face the human.

"So, are you two-"

"N-no. But I k-knew he liked me, and I h-had to save you somehow. I'll e-explain everything, j-just follow me to m-my lab."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still gonna go with Alphyne. Alphys was acting out of desperation. Don't panic.


	12. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand wakes up, and is soon left alone in Alphys's lab. He finds some things while alone.

I woke up from a dreamless sleep to my own home. I get up, and fly straight to Alphys's to start the new... day? Night? It's hard to tell down here.

Regardless, I'm soon sitting down inside the lab.

"S-sorry."

"About what?"

"The k-kiss..."

"Don't be, doc. I understood what you were trying to do, and how you were desperate to save that human. Besides, I still enjoyed it."

The doctor blushed a bit.

"Ah Gya Gya! I know you gotta have someone else to want."

"I was g-gonna go hang out w-with Undyne." She seemed to of wanted to change the subject pretty badly. Whatever.

"Okay. Actually, how about I watch this place while you're out?"

"T-thanks."

"No problem!"

Alphys left.

After a few minutes alone, I randomly dug through Alphys's big box of anime and fished out a case.

I put it in and sat down.

5 episodes in, I paused and started goofing around the lab, jumping off of things and doing loops in the air. Eventually, my horseplay knocked over a binder.

As I descended to pick it up, I noticed that the text on the front read "A+U".

Immensely curious, I opened the binder and began reading its contents, flipping to a random page to start.

 _I don't know how this is happening, but it is. Undyne and I_ are _going on our first date. I can't believe she wants garbage like me, but she must see something I can't._

Unholy shit.

The doctor wrote fanfiction about herself and Undyne being in a relationship.

I KNEW that crush was real. From the moment I saw those two lock eyes, the infatuation in Alphys's eyes was obvious. To me, at least.

There was no way in Hell I could stop here.

_We finished our meals and headed out. A man on the street noticed us, and winked at me. Undyne responded by aggressively kissing me on the lips. I felt like I was dreaming._

This was priceless. The worst (or best) part was that Alphys was actually pretty good at writing. The stories told were actually pretty cute. And, in some cases, well...

Alphys must watch a LOT of hentai on her alone time.

Barely able to contain laughter, I stuffed the binder back where it was somewhat hidden before.


	13. Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand talks with Alphys about what he found while she was out. Also, something happens.

I sat around, watching anime for a few more hours before Alphys came back.

"I'm h-home!"

"Hey, Alphys, I always suspected you liked Undyne, but... well..."

I grabbed the A+U binder from its place and held it up.

The doctor went still, before charging to me to grab the binder.

"Gah! What are you doing?"

"I n-need to burn t-this!"

"Nonsense! You've got yourself one of the most sincere forms of flattery! I bet Undyne would find it more cute than anything!"

Alphys stood still for a couple of seconds, before gently setting the binder down.

"Besides, you're a pretty good writer! The... intimate stories were actually pretty hot!"

"S-shutup..."

"Ah gya gya gya gya gya gya gya!"

The next few days in the underground were fairly mundane. Well, except for the one where that human delivered a love letter from Undyne to Alphys, only for it to of not been signed, causing Alphys to think that it was the human's. Well, it ended good regardless, as the fish and the lizard finally confessed to one another, and were actively dating. As much of a pain in the Lust aspect as it all was, I was happy for them regardless.

However, a few days after that, I was watching the lab again, since Alphys was up in the capitol for whatever reason.

And then, I felt something horrible. An odd energy was roiling through the underground.

Demonic senses knew this kind of energy.

The kind that steals souls.

If the soul thief got their hands on a demonic soul, nothing underground could even hope to stop them.

I ran outside, thankfully able to punch a portal to Hell into the earth and escape.


	14. Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand returns to the Underground to find the barrier gone. Also, Demogorgon plans things.

After escaping the soul-sucking apocalypse, I requested to see Old Scratch, or Demogorgon, about it. I was let in after I mentioned the Underground.

"Demogorgon, sir!"

"What is it, Firebrand?"

"Something has absorbed the souls of every monster in the Underground! I had to leave, lest my demonic soul make the thief unstoppable!"

"I will take a view of what is happening in the Underground."

Demogorgon's magic opened a screen in the throne room, showcasing an.. odd scene.

The human was there, fighting with what seemed to be some kind of cyborg creature, with a demonic goat's head, spiked gloves, massive wings, and something of a heart motif.

The abomination was crying.

"LET ME WIN!"

Eventually, the abomination fired a massive beam of energy at the human, while pleading for them to stop. Eventually, the energy from the beam jammed the scrying magic, killing the screen.

"I'll be right up there, sir."

"I will be watching, Firebrand."

I flew up to make a portal back to the Underground as fast as I could. I flew straight for the Capitol, to see...

The barrier broken.

Holy shit.

I looked onward to see the human, Sans, Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus, Asgore, and... Toriel? I think that goat lady was probably the thought-to-be-dead queen.

Apparently, the human, who was named Frisk, somehow broke the barrier. And my suspicions about the goat lady were right. After introducing myself to Toriel and Asgore, I thought to tell them about the mages and my true nature.

"First off, everyone, I'm not actually a monster."

"Nonsense, Firebrand." Asgore replied. "If you are not a monster, what could you be?"

I manifested the same form I used to try and kill Frisk.

"A demon."

Gasps came from the monsters before you.

"I know, but there's something more important. The mages that made the barrier never died, they just reincarnated. So now that the barrier's gone, they'll be coming to restore it. To entomb you all over again."

"We should leave a good impression on humanity, as to make it so that we have human allies to aid us."

"Good idea, also, we'll probably have help from Hell, since the whole reincarnation thing has Old Scratch pissed off."

"Who's Old Scratch?" Undyne asked.

"The ruler of Hell."

The fish fell silent.

A few minutes later, the monsters began their descent down the mountain to make peace with humans, while Demogorgon spoke to me through my mind.

"Firebrand. 3 of the 7 mages who made the barrier are within reasonable range of Mt. Ebott. I will leave them to you and the monsters. I have already dispatched demons to hunt down the other 4. The non-intervention policy is over."

"Yes, Demogorgon."

But first, to join the monsters in establishing peace.


	15. Descend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand scouts ahead as the rest of the monsters prepare to move forward.

Asgore's initial plan was for me to scout ahead, getting a general idea of a good path to follow to ease into human contact.

I flew down the mountain, surveying my surroundings for anything.

Eventually, I heard rustling, so I hit the ground and waited.

 

A trio of humans were hiking up the mountain.

"So, the weird noises came from this direction?"

"Yep. Whaddya think it could be, Kevin?"

"Sounded like an explosion. Remember the legend of those monsters trapped behind the barrier? Maybe it's true, and that was the barrier being destroyed."

"Nonsense, Kevin. Monsters aren't real. Even if they were, I'd probably be able to kick their asses."

"You always were a cocky one, Sarah."

I had to stop them from finding the monsters. Since it was so dark, maybe I could pass myself off as a human and get them to turn back.

Of course, the wings might be noticed. And the fact that my form has subtly altered during my time underground, making it scaly with a tail, sharper teeth, sharper claws, and a generally draconic visage. In other words, more monstrous.

Regardless, I got in their path and spoke.

"Wait! Don't go up there!"

The humans were startled for a bit, but soon recovered, allowing one of them to talk back. The group was two females and a male.

"Why?"

"Whatever made that weird-ass noise left a gaping hole in the side of the mountain. I'm actually heading down myself to tell others to stay away."

"I'll try to text my mom about this, so she can spread the word."

"Wait!" another human cried out.

"What is it, Catherine?"

"Don't you think our friend here looks a little... off?"

"Now that you mention it... a little."

"Hey, don't those kind of look like... wings?"

Shit.

"I'll grab the flashlight. I think it's in this bag somewhere..." The male human began sifting through the bag in question.

SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!

"Got it!"

Before I could react, the light was shining, illuminating my form.

One of the females fainted.

"Are you a... monster?" The other female asked.

"Yep. Ya got me. Look, follow me. I'll explain everything when we're closer to the top of the mountain."

The two humans seemed oddly eager to follow, as both went with me silently, the male carrying the fainted female.

"Do you have a name?"

"Firebrand. What about you three?"

"Catherine."

"Kevin. And the girl I'm carrying is Sarah."


	16. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 3 Humans are introduced to monsters, and they all go to make proper contact.

In a few minutes, the humans and I were with the monsters.

Asgore was the first to notice the humans, and he greeted them kindly.

"Howdy! I am Asgore!"

"Whoa!" Catherine yelled out. "There's so many of you! THIS IS AWESOME!"

"Oh boy..." Kevin muttered. There must be some history with Catherine's energetic moments.

The humans and the monsters greeted one another, getting along fairly well. Sarah even woke up. Thankfully, she didn't have a heart attack at the sight of so many monsters. Sans's puns seemed to of been a big help.

Regardless, the entire group rests for the night, and prepares to descend tomorrow.

The sun rises, and the group descends.

Within around 10 minutes, first contact is made with a small crowd.

After introductions, an uneasy silence hastily permeates the area. Not a creature moves a muscle, until...

Gunfire. A few of the humans fled to grab weapons during the silence.

I shove my claws to the ground, pulling the earth in front of me up to serve as a barrier.

I hear bullets deflected, and turn around to check on everyone.

I was too late.

Alphys's shoulder was visibly grazed, and a gaping bullet hole lies in Papyrus's skull.

The skeleton falls to his knees and crumbles into dust.

Despite the searing hot wrath flowing through me, my first reflex is to aid Alphys.

I'm able to get my left hand over her wound, before darkness abruptly consumes my vision.

I soon awaken to find myself in Alphys's lab again, laying on the same table I recovered from my battle against the gunslinger human on.

I was glad for the nature of afterlife entity senses in that moment, as they can perceive time rewinds.

And remember what was undone.

How this happened, I don't know, but Papyrus was probably alive again, and Alphys walked in the room, confirming herself as fine.

"W-what happened, Firebrand?"

"Timeline reset somehow. Do you remember anything?"

"Y-yes, actually. F-frisk should be coming back through soon."

"Weird you remember, Alphys. Maybe it's got something to do with how I was touching you when the reset happened."

At any rate, Frisk would free us all again, and the next contact wouldn't end in death.

Right?


	17. :)

Alphys and I sat around, waiting for Frisk to show up again.

We discussed how we would ultimately redo the fateful moment on the surface.

The plan came down to having Frisk show back up in the town, where they're no doubt filed as a missing person, and informing whoever grabs them of monsters. Then, Toriel would go forward first, and if she was met warmly, the rest of us would follow suit.

Good plan.

Alphys, however, looked to her cameras, and saw... well...

Sans was kneeling in the snow, clutching a dusty scarf.

What the fuck?

"Wait, Alphys, scroll back. What happened?"

Rewind.

It was Frisk.

They were killing everyone.

WHAT THE FUCK?

I barged out the door, taking flight in an instant.

I flew all the way to Waterfall, and saw an... odd sight.

Frisk was on a bridge, slowly approaching an armless lizard monster.

Frisk prepared to strike.

Undyne came leaping down out of nowhere, as if she was aiming to...

Take the blow.

I charged down myself, aiming right at the child. Before they could strike, I crashed into them, reducing the bridge to splinters as we went hurtling down.

I flew up, and slammed them against a cliff wall, holding them by the throat.

"What in the Hell do you think you're doing, Frisk?"

"Frisk is gone. I am Chara."

The child looked up, revealing pale skin, rosy cheeks, and scarlet eyes.

"Okay then, "Chara", care to explain why you feel the need to slaughter the innocent before I shred your flesh like paper?"

"Monsters are weak and cowardly, humans are cruel and bitter. None deserve life."

**Leave judgement to the professionals, kid.**

I tore the child asunder, only to bu sucked into darkness as they reset again.

Maybe if I stop them earlier, they'll give up.

Fly to Snowdin.

They're about to kill Papyrus.

Blow their head clean off with a well-aimed fireball.

Reset.

Reach the ruins.

They're about to kill Toriel.

Grab them and grind them into paste on the floor.

Reset.

Reach the spot where Frisk fell under.

Pin them to the floor.

"I can just reset again."

"Oh, I don't know..."

With a muttered incantation in demonic tongue, I plunge my claws into the child's chest, and pull out two red souls. Both of them turn into apparitions, one of Chara, one of Frisk. I shove Frisk's soul back into their body, and grab Chara's.

"I'll make a deal. You leave monsterkind alone and get a new attitude on life, and maybe you could find yourself with your own body. BUT, one speck of dust or drop of blood, and I will personally drag you to Hell. GOT IT?"

"Yes."

"Okay, now let Frisk do their thing."

I insert Chara's soul into Frisk's body. The child gets up, with Frisk visibly in control.

By the end of the day, the barrier was gone again, and it was time to enact the plan Alphys and I came up with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just felt the need to say it here, Firebrand WILL be rendered helpless at some point in this story.


	18. Contact-Take 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan goes into effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV Frisk/Chara. Chara is bolded.

I knew that I was a missing person back at the town, so finding someone would be easy.

**What if they don't believe you?**

The walking skeletons will probably offer a rather compelling argument for "forgotten magical race".

I walked on down to the town, keeping a low profile. Soon, I was alone on a house-lined street, when I saw two girls and a guy, all roughly 17. One of the girls walked up to me.

"Hey, little one, are you-"

She must of saw my face.

"KEVIN, SARAH, I FOUND THAT MISSING CHILD!"

"Seriously, Catherine?" 

The boy looked at you.

"Looks like them, Sarah."

"HOLY SHI-CRUD, CATHERINE!"

After the yelling died down, Catherine started asking you things.

"Where were you?"

"Well..."

I explained to them the whole "monster" situation, making very sure to indicate that they are friendly.

"Nonsense!" Sarah confidently stated. "Monsters aren't real!"

"May as well follow the kid, anyway."

"Got me there, Kevin."

I led the three away from town, and a bit up the mountain.

**What if they react violently?**

Undyne and Firebrand aren't far, they can take care of things if they go wrong.

Soon, Toriel was in sight, and she greeted the humans.

"You sure it isn't someone in a costume?"

"Why you gotta doubt the kid so much, Sarah? I WANT there to be some kind of friendly magical race!"

"Well you are in luck." Toriel interrupted.

"My child, care to show these humans the rest of us?"

"Yea, sure."

"YOU CAN ALL COME DOWN NOW!"

Everyone else hastily came running down, with the humans' expressions becoming slack jawed as the sight of the Bone Bros. and Firebrand.

"Okay..." Sarah muttered in shock. "Not costumes."

"Also," Kevin said. "About Toriel treating you as their child, Frisk... It's sweet and all, but it's gonna be legal hell. Adoption is obtuse enough, much less the new world of interspecies adoption."

"We will find a way."

**But at what cost?**

Shut up, Chara.


	19. Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month passes. Things are... oddly smooth. But, Firebrand receives a threat, and Demogorgon talks to him in his sleep.

When we made a second proper first contact, not a bullet was fired. As a matter of fact, things went smoothly. Within a month, an abandoned portion of town near the mountain was hastily revitalized to serve as temporary monster residence. While bigotry was an inevitable evil, it was unable to cause any harm as of yet. The worst thing up to this point was the obnoxious news crews.

Case in point.

I walked outside, and was met with a flurry of camera flashes and questions.

"Mr. Firebrand, did you try to kill Frisk?"

"Are the rumors that you're something other than a human or a monster true?"

"What is your opinion on the bitter rejection monsters face at some places in town?"

"GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

A bit of Wrath flared up, causing a small wave of heat to radiate from my being, driving reporters back.

"Bigots can rot in the fiery pits of Hell. Also, stop asking people about who they did and did not attempt to kill. Don't any of you think that such a question is a bit uncomfortable?"

I still had to fend them off a bit longer, but they moved on after some time, leaving me to rest.

I woke up in the middle of the night to thumping by my front door. I opened it to see a note, and read it.

WE KNOW WHAT YOU AND YOUR KIND TRULY ARE, HELLSPAWN! WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CORRUPT OUR WORLD!

At the bottom was a drawing of an ornate Latin Cross. Great. These asshats were probably religiously motivated, and from some form of Christianity. Holy burns Unholy, and any believer can exploit that, no matter the intent.

I went back to sleep, a bit fearful.

My dream had me floating in a vast void, nothing but darkness at every turn.

Soon, however, the black was filled with a deep crimson, and a muscular torso carrying two heads resembling monstrous apes and bearing bundles of tentacles for arms rose before me.

Demogorgon.

"What is it, sir?"

"One of the Barrier Mages has already been slain, and their soul sent to its final destination. Your senses should warn you when a Barrier Mage is near. You will know the time to act, Firebrand, as will your monster allies. Be ready. Be wrathful."

"Yes, Demogorgon, sir."

My dream faded, and no other came to replace it through the rest of my sleep.

A/N: [This](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-An_pISLLt8o/VWmvHmUS_xI/AAAAAAAAERg/clHpnd3Bjx8/s1600/232demogorgon5e.jpg) image is how I visualize Demogorgon for the purposes of this fic.


	20. Alcohol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand gets drunk. Or at least tries to.

The next day, I decided to hit a bar not far from the monster district. Thankfully, the owner of this establishment was welcoming towards monsters. They actually sort of co-operated the place with Grillby, some fire elemental who had a bar underground. Regardless, several drinks in... well...

"This human alcohol is NOTHING! I'm not even tipsy! COME ON!"

My fervor for my quest for intoxication had everyone else there a bit scared. Alphys was hiding behind Undyne for almost our entire time there, the K9 unit moved away from me, and I was generally alone at my table. And every table next to it.

I was soon given a pitcher containing a combination of Beer, Irish Whiskey, and Vodka. I didn't even pay attention to the name it was given as I chugged the concoction. 

I could feel my balance faltering, and my worries for the future fading a bit.

"Hell, it's about damn time."

"W-will that be all, sir?" The waiter was terrified of me.

"Pfft, no! Hit me with your mightiest blow! STRIKE ME DOWN WHERE I STAND! Hic..."

The hiccup was accompanied by a small fireball in my mouth. The waiter jumped.

"Y-yessir."

Soon, another pitcher came my way. The bartender was hyping it up big time.

"Firebrand now faces the Amalgamate, an abominable drink of every kind of alcohol we have. Sure to put his rampage on our kegs to an end!"

Everyone present was cheering me on, except Alphys. She looked oddly distressed at the announcement of the Amalgamate. Was she worried about what I would do once intoxicated? I should ask sometime. If I remember to, anyway.

Regardless, I downed the beast before me, roaring with triumph while spitting a stream of flame upon finish.

Thankfully, the bone bros were there, and Papyrus elected to drive the drunk, consisting of me, Undyne, Sans, and, to a limited extent, Alphys, home. Dogamy was apparently designated driver for the K9 unit on that day, so they were fine.

I walked, no, stumbled into bed, and was out cold within a minute, my dreams nonexistent, but my mind still wondering why Alphys was distressed over the Amalgamate.


	21. Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand asks Alphys why she was so stressed over the Amalgamate. Big secrets are revealed.

I rise abnormally late in the next day, still a little hung over, but not much. Thankfully, I remembered to talk to Alphys.

Within a few minutes, I'm at Undyne and her's house, and I knock.

The door opens to the lizard nerd I seek.

"Hey, Firebrand."

"Can I come in?"

"S-sure, Undyne's still as-asleep, though."

I enter, and sit down with Alphys.

"I got a question for ya."

"Yes?"

"Why were you so scared when the bartender introduced the Amalgamate last night?"

Alphys seized up, and began to tremble.

"P-please don't bring this up..."

"I wanted to fuck you almost on first sight, Alphys. It'll be fine."

"O-okay."

Alphys began slowly explaining that, while she was trying to figure out a way to break the barrier, she started researching Determination. Having learned it can breathe life into the dying, she tried to use it to save the lives of dying monsters, only for the Determination to be too much for their bodies, causing them to melt and fuse into twisted aberrations she dubs Amalgamates, explaining her reaction at the bar. However, even with my question answered, she started to break down.

"A-and I'm just a coward, a l-liar, a failure a-and... w-when I die, can you take me to H-hell, Firebrand? Because I kn-know that's w-where I belong..."

"Actually, Alphys, it isn't. You see, a demon can use its sense of smell to sniff out where a mortal soul is due to. There are 4 distinct smells: The smell of someone who is due to Hell and shameless, the smell of someone who is not due to Hell, the smell of someone who is due to Hell but has deluded themselves into thinking they are in the right, and the smell of someone not due to Hell convinced they are due to Hell. You can probably see where I'm going here."

"I h-have that l-last smell?"

"Damn right. Also, what happened to the Amalgamates?"

"They live with t-their families, and I've gotten l-letters from said f-families. Not that I open them, I'm too a-afraid..."

"Does Undyne know this."

"No..."

"Tell her. I honestly doubt she would abandon you over this."

"O-okay."

Alphys went upstairs. A few minutes later, I could hear her and Undyne talking. All I could make out was Alphys's self-loathing screams, several usages of "Alphy", and crying. A LOT of crying. Eventually, I decided to head on up and see how things went.

I opened the door to Undyne's room and...

They had just finished rending eachother bare.

Shit Fuck Damn It

"G-glad to see everything worked out!"

I slammed the door shut violently and bolted.

Hoo, boy, I saw her naked. The awkward arousal was probably going to stick around all day.

Unless...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating upgraded to Mature due to mentioned nudity.


	22. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dealing with his... issue, Firebrand sees something awful on the TV.

I walk out of my bedroom, having succeeded in dealing with my... issue regarding seeing Alphys bare. Regardless, I soon decide to sit down in the main room and watch some TV.

I flip the device on, and see that I must of left it on a news channel. The last story I saw from this channel was about leaked celebrity nudes or something like that. Typical humans, letting the famous draw attention from other, almost always more significant things. However, what I saw on the screen had me dialing Alphys and Undyne's number in an instant.

"A pile of dust was found in an alleyway near the Hartman-Grillby's bar, marking the first confirmed murder of a monster since their exodus to the surface."

I pounded the numbers in forcefully, mostly due to the Wrath lancing through my being.

My calls were hastily answered by Undyne.

"Hello?"

"UNDYNE! TURN THE TV TO THE NEWS! MAKE SURE ALPHYS SEES!"

"Give me a bit, Firebrand, Alphys is alrea-WHAT THE FUCK?"

Before I could respond, the story continued.

"Etched into the wall nearby was a message."

**WE DO NOT CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS, BUT WE WILL INFLICT THIS IF THESE DEMONS DO NOT RETURN TO THEIR WRETCHED CAVERNS.**

**\- HANDS OF THE DIVINE**

"It is believed that the message is linked to the threatening notes left at the doorsteps of monsters last night, which similarly condemned them as demonic. Stay tuned to see updates as this story develops. This is Nathan Redson, with Channel 5."

I stood idle, contemplating. These "Hands of the Divine" had no idea how right they could be. It was funny, honestly. The looks on their faces when my true nature is revealed will be sights to remember.

 

"You there, Firebrand?"

"Gya gya gya..."

"What's so funny? You okay?"

"These insolent humans have no idea that they hit a single nail on the head."

Undyne chuckled.

"You're right. That actually is kind of funny. But, we should get to the site!"

"But of course. See you there."

"Bye."

I hung up and made haste for the scene of the crime.

In addition to human police and news crews, all of the "major" monsters were there. Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus. I arrived around the same time Alphys and Undyne did, completing the set. And, of course, Frisk was present, clinging to Toriel a little.

A newswoman approached Frisk.

"Ambassador, how do you plan to deal with this new, mysterious hate group?"

Frisk turned to face the monsters and I, as if asking us to answer the question. I was the first to speak.

"As much as I'd love to suggest slaying these self-righteous insects without a second's hesitation, Frisk would never support such a merciless approach. You got any ideas, Asgore?"

"This is a matter to be discussed in private."

With that, Asgore, Toriel, and Frisk were soon privately conversing with local authorities. The rest of us were allowed to go home.

After I arrived home, I hopped on the internet, and looked up myself.

Some humans expressed feeling that I was a ticking time bomb, living proof that the Hands were at least slightly right for the wrong reasons. Others said I was the kind of eager combatant the world needed en masse to assure a bright future for humans and monsters alike. Regardless, the emotions expressed boiled down to two things:

Fear and Respect.

Perfect.


	23. Bonus: Notes on Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With information from Firebrand, Alphys has notes on the biology of Demons.

Alphys Notes: Demons and Hell

Demons are denizens of Hell, and the entities assigned to the care or lack thereof for departed souls not allowed into Heaven.

Demons are primarily magical in structure, similar to Monsters. However, the demonic magic making them up has drastically different properties. As opposed to being vulnerable to killing intent, demons are vulnerable to the magic of Heaven, frequently delivered through blessed artifacts, such as holy water. Human attacks on demons will deal purely physical damage, which is shrugged off with ease in the majority of cases. Monster magic is more effective than physical attacks, but still weak.

A demonic soul bears one of seven aspects, much like a human soul. However, demonic soul aspects are not like human aspects, and instead correspond to the "Seven Deadly Sins". Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Envy, or Sloth. A demon can have more than one aspect, with three being the highest commonly known case.

A demon's aspect heavily influences its personality. If a demon's soul aspect is sufficiently provoked, the demon will enter a trance-like state that will suppress most rational thought in favor of indulging their aspect until said indulgence is successful. A demon in this trance will use its full power in a ruthless manner to achieve its goal, with Firebrand's battle with Frisk being a notable exception.

A demon's body is absolutely malleable as long as the demon is in Hell, this includes gender. The only limits to a demon's form are creativity and raw soul power. On the subject on power, demonic souls are stronger than human souls, putting them in a tier far beyond monster souls. However, a demon's form may alter subconsciously to reflect its mental state or surroundings, as seen in Firebrand changing from a smooth-skinned gargoyle-like entity to a scaly, draconic one, notably gaining a tail in the process, over the course of his time living among monsters.

Demons can form soul bonds in the process of intimacy in a similar manner to monsters. Demon-Human bonds have occurred before, and bear no visible consequences on either being. Demon-Monster bonds, however, are unheard of. The consequences of such a bond are unknown. They probably would be known had Firebrand gotten his initial wish regarding me.

Demonic culture is hedonistic, with different areas of Hell being dedicated to indulging different aspects. The departed souls of Hell that are not condemned to near-perpetual torment (which is the vast majority) are allowed to join in the hedonism when they are not currently in their mandatory torment hours.

On this subject, the process of judging a departed soul is apparently very intricate in how it weighs virtues against vices. A soul that leans even the slightest bit towards vice ends up in Hell. However, the smaller the majority, the less time the soul will spend being tormented, minimizing at 1 hour a day. The most vile souls are tormented for 20 hours at a time, and kept in a room specifically designed to offer as mediocre of an experience as possible for the remaining 4 hours.

Punishment methods typically manifest by victimizing the soul to what they victimized others to. Raping rapists, murdering murderers, burning a building with arsonists in it, and so on. However, souls with especially low torment times are subject to extremely petty torments based on the victim's nature, such as temporarily making an internet lover's connection painfully unreliable, but just usable enough to keep them from walking away too quickly.

The negative emotions, be it agony or mere frustration, in addition to sinful pleasures, from Hell's souls is converted into raw energy, which is split in a 7:3 ratio, with 70% going to keeping Hell running, and 30% going to Heaven. Heaven does a similar thing energy taken from the joys of its souls.


	24. Predict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand dreams of future events. They aren't pretty.

It has been a week since the first recorded murder of a monster by a human. The authorities subverted expectations wonderfully by hastily upping public security. Things have been calm, but my dreams tell a terrible tale.

All I could see was black, but I could hear sounds. Gunfire. Raging flames. Then, I heard voices.

"The Hands of the Divine have launched an attack on the public! Numerous monsters, Including Undyne, are already dead! Wait... what the- THE FIRE ELEMENTAL! IT ABSORBED A HUMAN SOUL! WE NEED TO-"

**BY FIRE, BE PURGED!**

All that remained was fire and agonized screaming.

I jumped from my bed as I woke, gasping for air. Demons are known to have prophetic dreams. Undyne was going to die. And if she died, Alphys, given how mentally fragile she seems, would...

I need to tell someone.

In a few minutes, I was thundering at Alphys and Undyne's door.

It soon swung open to reveal Undyne,

"Alphys is sleeping, Firebrand. What do you-"

"I need to talk to you both! Right now!"

"I'll get Alphys up."

Within a few minutes, everyone was sitting down in the living room.

"Okay, to start, demons are known to have prophetic dreams."

They both nodded, but I could see the worry building up in their expressions.

"And the dream I just had, while it was sound only, the sounds don't paint a pretty picture."

With a bit of magic, I played what I heard to them.

Their faces welled with terror, and Alphys broke, curling into a sobbing ball.

"N-NO! Everything's d-doomed.... If G-grillby absorbs a human s-soul like you dreamed of, it w-will almost surely start another w-war... not even getting into the fact that... that U-undyne will... she will..." She couldn't speak further, and cried instead.

Undyne went to wrap her arms around Alphys. Tears welling up for her as well.

"May as well m-make the most of what time he have, Alphy..."

"WAIT!"

Both turned to face me.

"Prophetic dreams have been proven wrong before. Mortals can easily throw a wrench into the machine of fate, and defy what has been foretold. For example, before the war, There were some 4 failed assassination attempts on Asgore's father. Demonic dreams told of successful attempts each time. The prophecies are not infallible. We just need to be ready."

Both monsters slowly regained composure.

"HELL YES!" Undyne roared out. "LET'S KICK FATE'S ASS!"

Her enthusiasm spread to Alphys, who smiled.

"Yes. We can tell the others of this, and, together, we can save everyone."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had way too much fun visualizing Grillby on human soul power. Can anyone guess why?


	25. Prepare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand's dreams foretell the exact day everything goes to shit, so preparations are made.

By the end of the day, all of the "main group" knew of demons' prophetic dreams and the dire omen my dream cast. Asgore said he would cooperate with the local authorities more on improving security, and perhaps begin attempting to root out the Hands of the Divine. Toriel would be more protective, and Mettaton would spread messages of safety, albeit ones distanced from anything regarding a Demond's prophetic dreams.

As I rested after that day, however, my dream told me one thing.

The day of doom was next Sunday.

Today was Tuesday, so that meant we would have time.

As I rose from my slumber, I did not waste so much as a second relaying this to the main group.

Everyone expressed relief that we now knew when the moment of truth would arrive.

But, for the time being, I was hanging out with my two favorite monsters, no, mortals in the world. And they were both scaly.

We were lounging around idly, as we had just finished the second part of our Jojo's marathon. All was quiet, until Undyne spoke up.

"Alphy, when the bad day has passed, we should... actually, I should ask you first."

Undyne got up, knelt before Alphys, and pulled out a small box. I already knew where this was going, and the lust in my soul seared at the sight, but was easily suppressed by how glad I felt for the two monsters.

Undyne opened the box to reveal a ring.

"Will you marry me?"

Alphys's jaw dropped, before she roared out with a loudness she hadn't reached since when I tried to kill Frisk back underground.

"OH MY GOD, YES!"

The lizard flung herself into Undyne, who barely had time to put the ring down before kissing her with all the fervor she extrudes in battle, and then some.

"Hey, you two."

They both turned to face me, both blushing heavily from what just happened.

"With how happy you two are, I think I should say that I might have a backup if something goes wrong on the fateful day. Once in their existence, a demon can rescue a mortal soul from Hell, and return it to the surface, resurrecting the deceased in the process. I say might, because I'm unsure if I still have my rescue. Regardless, can I perform a single song at your wedding? I'd put myself up for the whole thing, but Napstablook would probably do the job better, and I don't think the cold iron fortress that is my taste in music would fit good for a wedding's entirety."

"O-of course, Firebrand!"

I rested well that night. However, I abruptly awoke to find myself in Hell, standing before Demogorgon.

"What is thy will, Demogorgon, sir?"

"In response to your unyielding friendship with monsterkind, I hereby dub you: Herald to the Surface."

Unholy shit.

"Thank you, sir."

"Also, I'll supply you a small group of demon musicians to aid you at Alphys and Undyne's wedding. You can probably pass them off as monsters easily enough."

Everything felt perfect. But if it would stay, was up for debate.


	26. Intermission: Mages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just who are the seven mages, and what are they doing now that monsters are free?

The seven mages, while all magic users, obviously, use their magic to facilitate different fighting styles, all of which are reminiscent of fantasy character classes.

Naleera, the Rouge. She fights through stealth and deceit.

Grom, the Berserker. He fights with endless rage and reckless abandon.

Ragan, the Warlock. He fights with destructive bursts of arcane might.

Kiras, the Ranger. She fights on the move, weaving bow and sword together in combat.

Brazin, the Fighter. He fights to protect his allies with his life.

Saris, the Druid. She fights in bestial forms with the might of the wild.

Zerez, the Wizard. He fights by holding his enemies back with magical barriers and arcane shockwaves.

The mages have varying opinions on their responsibility for monsterkind's entombment.

Ragan, Kiras, and Zerez regret nothing, and will plot against monsters as soon as they learn of their freedom.

Grom, Brazin, and Naleera regret their actions, and wish to make amends and stop the other mages from harming monsters.

Saris was indifferent, and only acted out of loyalty to her friends. However, the world will never see how she would react to the freedom of monsters.

She was slain by demons, and her soul now awaits judgement to determine her final fate after death.

Three of the mages are within reasonable distance of Ebott. Only time can tell which mages they are, and how they shall impact the lives of monsterkind.


	27. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fateful day has arrived.

As I awaken from my sleep, a feeling of dread lances through me.

Today was the fated day my dreams spoke of.

After I finished getting out of bed and going through a brief morning routine, I called up Asgore.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Asgore, it's Firebrand. Today is the day my dreams spoke of. What's the plan?"

"Perhaps if most monsters are to stay in their homes, us included, the massacre your dream spoke of will never come."

"As much as I doubt that shaking off fate will be that easy, It's probably a good start anyhow. I'll tell the others."

"I will inform the general public. You can tell those close to you."

"Alright."

After telling most of the main group Asgore's plan, I called up Alphys and Undyne.

"H-hello?"

"Heya, Al. Asgore's first plan is for everyone to stay at home, since he thinks that if we do so, the massacre my dream spoke of would have no targets. So, I'm thinking I could sneak over to your house through Hell and we could spend the day getting into Part 3."

"Oh! S-sure! I'll tell Undyne!"

I heard the phone being set down and footsteps moving away. Within a minute, the phone was picked back up.

"Sure, Brand! Come on over!"

"On my way, Undyne!"

With a few words of demonic tongue, I was slipping through Hell. I ended up bursting back up in their bathroom. Which was being used by Undyne.

"Well, this is awkward."

"GAH! GIVE ME SOME PRIVACY, PUNK!"

I hastily fled the room and lunged onto the couch at my earliest convenience. Around 30 seconds later, Undyne was done relieving herself and her, Alphys and I were all watching Stardust Crusaders.

A few episodes in, Undyne's phone vibrated. She casually pulled it out, before jolting in shock.

"It's from Asgore! Turn on the news now!"

I had the remote, and did just that.

"A large crowd of people has gathered just outside of the Hartman-Grillby's bar. The group speaks of religious opposition to monsters, and some fear they may have connections to the mysterious "Hands of the Divine"."

The program cut to audio of the crowd's chants.

"BACK TO HELL! GOD HATES MONSTERS! BACK TO HELL! GOD HATES MONSTERS!"

They continued as so, with no signs of stopping.

"The crowd has yet to do anything violent, although some say-"

A gun was fired, caught by the live camera. The shot was followed by a few more, albeit they all seemed to be aimed at the front of the bar, rather than any living thing.

Before the newsperson could continue, Undyne snatched the remote from my hands, turned the TV off, and stood tall.

"I'm not gonna sit here while these idiots wave their guns in the directions of innocent people!"

"Wait, U-undyne! F-firebrand's dreams! I c-can't lose you!"

"I'D SOONER DIE THAN SIT HERE DOING NOTHING!"

Alphys silently shrunk into the couch. Undyne, realizing what she did, bent over to softly stroke her head.

"Sorry for snapping like that. But, Alphy, if I don't come back, you need to stay strong."

Alphys didn't even reply, she just curled up and sobbed from anticipation of the worst.

"I'm coming with you, Undyne."

The fish nodded.

Once we were both on the site, the police had also arrived, and had just started efforts to break the crowd up, which Undyne and I joined. However, a mysterious wave of force struck the police line, pushing them back slightly. Within seconds, all eyes fell upon a lanky man, who looked to be in his 60s, with blue energy radiating from his palms.

The crowd fled screaming.

The man wove his hands. The police was sent hurtling away by an invisible force.

Mage. No doubt about it.

 


	28. Zerez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zerez, one of the barrier mages, has made themselves known.

**Mage.**

"Thanks for noticing, beast!"

He tried to summon another wave of force, only to be cut off by a near-miss spear.

Before the fight can truly break out, I turn to the police.

"Leave. This is over ancient grudges. Undyne and I have this covered."

Contrary to my expectations, the police do just that.

"You... you sealed us... NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Undyne's wrath rivaled my own as she prepared a bona-fide onslaught for the mage.

The mage casually lifted his arm and summoned a magical barrier, which absorbed every spear. He feigned yawning.

"How utterly droll."

Silently, I raised a claw skyward and tore his barrier to shreds in a single blow.

"What? How in the...?"

"Oh, right, you still think I'm a monster. Tell me, Zerez, have any of your fellow mages been slain, permanently?"

"How do you know about Saris? Or my name? WHAT ARE YOU?"

"Simple, really, a demon. Afterlife entities know a lot of things."

I flew forward hastily and slammed into Zerez, sending him sliding back. Despite all this, he smiled while chuckling a bit.

"Demon, eh? Well, while the religious motivation of the Hands of the Divine are fallacious in every way, at least their blessed artifacts will prove useful now!"

Zerez clutched an ornate wooden cross to his chest, and breathed in deeply. He then sent a wave of golden energy at me. On contact, it seared my flesh.

"GYAAAAAA!"

Zerez stood up to fire more blessed attacks, but, once again, was interrupted by a spear.

Undyne didn't even speak as she charged to join me, she only yelled.

Hellfire. Blessed Magic. Spears. All flew like crazy as the battle against Zerez raged. As it continued, I could feel the holy magic taking its toll. My body felt as if it was slowly breaking apart. I would not be able to remain in the mortal world for long at this rate. But, I had an idea.

With a few words of demonic tongue, I turned myself into a bomb. In a minute, my body would explode into a glorious inferno, and I would take Zerez with me. I flew forward, grabbed him, and flew away from Undyne before lifting him by the neck.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Look closely, Zerez."

Panic filled the mage's face as he no doubt noticed the cracks forming in my body, bursting with power as the clock ticked to my detonation. As he struggled, I began to laugh.

"AH GYA GYA GYA GYA GYA!"

But, he soon gestured towards Undyne, and...

She was sent hurtling at us!

"You win, hellspawn! BUT AT WHAT COST?"

I tried to do something, anything to get her away, but I could not. Neither me nor Undyne could do so much as scream as I exploded, killing Zerez and Undyne while destroying my body.

Everything went dark. But, my vision returned to see myself floating in a nexus of unholy energy along with the spirits of other wounded demons. I would regenerate, and be able to return to the surface.

A demon, humanoid and unwounded, approached me.

"Demogorgon has sent me to check up on you, Herald. He has also told me to tell you that you have not expended your ability to rescue a soul from the afterlife. As soon as you regenerate, you can return to the surface, Undyne in tow."

"Perfect. But... What is your name?"

"My name is Imprak, Herald."

(A/N: I visualize Imprak as looking like [This.](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/doom/images/4/44/IMP.png/revision/latest?cb=20160528025044))

"Imprak! You must go to the surface and find the monster Alphys! With Undyne dead, she's probably broken, and there's no telling what she could do!"

"At once, herald."

Imprak fled.

**********

Undyne was dead.

She knew that for sure.

But all she could see was black.

However, said black was broken by the coming of a figure. A reptilian creature with golden scales.

"Greetings, departed. I am Ethos, an angel. Now that you are dead, your soul will await judgement to determine your final fate. However, if there is someone you wish to see in either afterlife, tell me."

"Take me to the demon Firebrand."

"I shall teleport you to their position.

Undyne soon found herself floating among numerous wounded demons, and in front of her was Firebrand, missing an arm and a leg with a gaping hole in his chest.

"Undyne."

"So, Firebrand, am I dead for good?"

"No, actually. I haven't expended my one chance to return a departed soul to the mortal world. As soon as I'm regenerated, I can take you with me to the surface."

"Goo- WAIT! What about Alphy? What of she..."

"Don't worry. A demon named Imprak has gone to the surface to tell her of the situation. She is safe. Until I regenerate, feel free to hang out in Hell! Seriously, go try out our alcohol! You'll be wrecked in no time!"

 

 


	29. Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys's reaction to Undyne's apparent demise.

Alphys sat, staring blankly at her TV. She had just seen amateur footage of Firebrand blowing himself up to kill one of the barrier mages, but the mage was able to drag Undyne into the explosion, and she died, too.

She was still, in a state of absolute shock for a good several minutes, before she fell to the floor, sobbing. Undyne was always there for her. Whenever she felt down, whenever she felt the need to harm herself, and she even saved her from her own suicidal thoughts when they first met at the abyss. But now, she was gone.

Was there a point in going on?

Alphys tried to remember that she was needed, that her intelligence was a great asset to the world. Which it was. But, those thoughts were devoured by the black hole of despair that had formed in her mind. Besides, Undyne was like the glue holding her broken character together. With the glue gone... What use was there in something broken, anyway?

Alphys finally stopped crying, and looked to the door.

She knew where she had to be.

She silently trudged her way through New Home. Her mind echoed with the very thoughts from the last time she came to the abyss for this reason. The cries of the Amalgamates, and the thoughts on how unforgivable she was. Even if Undyne, Asgore, and Firebrand didn't care, and if the Amalgamates and their families said they were happy, what about when the truth hits the public? If she didn't kill herself, someone would probably kill her, anyway. Especially with Undyne not being there to protect her.

She was soon in Hotland, and upon seeing her old lab, she shuddered as the memories of the Amalgamates' formation burst forth.

The screams.

The horrible, horrible screams.

The memories stopped her for a second, and she thought she heard footsteps nearby, but she brushed it aside. A mind as wracked with guilt and despair as hers would hallucinate such things.

Eventually, she finally reached the abyss she sought, and walked to the edge, gazing down. She was in this same position around a year ago, but a certain beautiful monster came running. But, that monster was dead, and Alphys was intent on joining her. As she took a step off, a deep voice rang through the caverns.

"Hey!"

Alphys stumbled back, but only for a second, as she braced herself to leap, to finally end it.

"Hey, Dr. Alphys!"

She stumbled back again, and this time she soon found herself held. She turned to see her company, and saw a monstrous (not in the racial sense) humanoid, probably a demon.

"W-who are you?"

The demon(?) let go of her, and knelt down.

"My name is Imprak. I come bearing messages from Hell. Firebrand is not dead, but must regenerate. In addition, he has not expended his single rescue from the afterlife. When he returns, he will bring Undyne with him."

Alphys was still for a moment, but soon hugged Imprak.

"T-thank you for telling me. I w-was about to end it all..."

"I can tell, Alphys. Firebrand and Undyne were worried you would attempt to do so. But you must persevere."

"Y-yes."

"Now, let's get you back to the surface. The others must be worried about you."

And they did return to the surface, and Alphys was ready to face whatever challenges stood between her and Undyne's return.


	30. Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imprak and Alphys meet up with the rest of the main group, and discuss plans for waiting out Firebrand's return. Also, the public wants answers about demons.

Imprak took Alphys all the way back to the street where most of the "main group" lived, holding her close the whole time. The demon eventually came upon a house with a distinct sense of grandeur to it.

He knocked on the door, and Asgore opened it.

"Alphys! You are okay! We were worried about you!"

Alphys flung herself forward and into Asgore's arms.

"I-it'll all be o-okay, j-just ask I-imprak."

"Imprak?" Asgore asked, gesturing towards the demon.

"Yes. I come bearing news from Hell. Please, let me inside, it is best if everyone in the "main group" hears this."

Imprak was quickly let inside, and now spoke before Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Frisk, and Alphys.

"Firebrand is not dead. He must regenerate, however. In addition, once in a demon's existence, they can rescue a mortal soul from the afterlife. Firebrand has yet to use his rescue. As a result, when he returns to the surface, he will bring Undyne back with him."

The monsters' faces filled with relief at the news. However, said relief was cut off by the sound of news crews arriving outside. Asgore opened the door to a flurry of camera flashes and voices.

"Did you know Firebrand was a demon this whole time?"

"Was the "Demon" thing just for intimidation?"

Imprak ran up to the door. "I shall answer your questions. Yes, Asgore, along with the rest of the "main group" of monsters, knew of Firebrand's demonic nature. Yes, demons are real, I am one, myself."

The crews started up again.

"Is your presence a sign of the apocalypse?"

"Do you seek to bring death and destruction?"

The words quickly melded with eachother to create one massive noise, which was interrupted by a thundering voice that seemingly came from the depths of the Earth.

**Enough.**

All fell silent for a minute, before a portion of the street began to glow blood red as demonic runes appeared on the surface. Soon, a massive, two-headed humanoid with tentacles in place of arms emerged from the Earth silently.

The humans present began to flee in terror.

"Do not be afraid, mortals. I do not bring death, nor do I bring destruction. I bring only answers. I am Demogorgon, current Ruler of Hell. I shall answer some of your questions. One at a time, please."

A reporter stepped forth.

"Is the presence of demons on the surface a sign of the apocalypse?"

"No. Firebrand simply wished to live a life as a mortal, and Imprak is only a messenger."

More questions came, primarily concerning if demons were a threat to humans. Demogorgon's answers formed a picture that, while demons were embodiments of at least one of the Seven Deadly Sins in all cases, they were generally content in Hell, with Firebrand and Imprak being major exceptions. He also refused to answer any questions regarding the nature of the afterlife, except the fact that angels and demons alike loved to model themselves after entities from human mythologies, religions, and fiction.

"Also, the human that Firebrand killed, that was Zerez, one of the seven mages responsible for sealing monsters underground. They created a spell of endless reincarnation, allowing them effective immortality. My forces now seek them out, both to protect monsters and their supporters, and to bring them to the afterlife they are so overdue for. Now, I shall return to Hell. Imprak, your presence is required in Hell as well."

"Yes, milord."

The two demons returned to Hell, and the news crews left soon after.

**********

Around noon the next day, Imprak had returned to the surface, bearing more news for monsters.

"Firebrand shall finish regenerating in 24 hours. When he is ready, he wishes that you hold a false funeral for Undyne. Firebrand believes that so many important monsters in one place will draw the attention of your enemies. There will be several demons, including myself, disguised among the funeral-goers, and Firebrand will return, with Undyne in tow, when enemies appear, allowing for them to easily be subdued and, hopefully, jailed." 


	31. Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The false funeral in Undyne's honor is held.

It was Monday, September the 8th. On this day, a funeral was planned in honor of the fallen monster Undyne. However, all funeral goers were preemptively informed of the fact that Undyne would rise from the dead at the "funeral", courtesy of Firebrand, but were told to act as if she was truly dead in order to fool anyone who might attack the funeral.

It was midday, the sun hung high in the sky, albeit obscured by clouds. A crowd of monsters and humans alike, dressed in hauntingly beautiful, generally black attire, stood before a memorial, a masterfully crafted statue of Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard, Champion of Monsters, and dead. Well, dead for the time being, at least.

Asgore stood in front of the memorial as if to give a speech, but was waiting for something, instead. Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, Alphys, and Mettaton were all among the crowd. Toriel bore a solemn expression, cultivating the illusion of a true funeral. Papyrus and Sans were next to eachother, with similar expressions to Toriel. Alphys was crying, overcome with the sheer, visceral terror of losing Undyne, regardless of the fact that she would return. Mettaton was at her side, holding her close, attempting to soothe her pain, however temporary it would be.

Asgore, deciding that it was the best course of action, tapped the mic before him to test it, and began to speak.

"On this day, we have gathered here to honor the life of-"

There was rustling among the bushes.

All fell silent, as the "funeral-goers" looked around warily.

After a minute, Asgore continued, and a "funeral-goer", a panther-like monster, walked up next to him. Only Asgore knew why.

"We have gathered here to honor the life of Undyne, one of, if not the, bravest-"

A gunshot pierced the speech.

All present turned in the direction of the blast, startled. A gunman held a revolver out in front of him, barely concealed in a bush.

The gunman stared at the target he had hit, not Asgore, as he had intended, but the panther next to him. He watched, in horrified awe, as the panther's skin and clothes seemingly burnt away, revealing a far more... demonic visage.

Imprak.

The demon snarled at the would-be assassin, a ball of hellfire appearing in his palm.

Without warning, more gunmen and gunwomen sprang from the shadows, but found themselves still with shock as more of the crowd revealed themselves to be disguised demons.

The demons readied their infernal magic, intimidating the attackers from action. Eventually, the gunmen attempted to flee, but were stopped by the very soil shaking as an unseen voice spoke.

**Oh, going so soon?**

Asgore and Imprak stepped down from the podium holding the statue, as it soon began to burst with infernal magic.

From the tempest rose a draconic humanoid, scales blood red and jagged, bearing vicious claws and teeth, with a pair of forward-curving horns sprouting from their head, and large, leathery wings.

Firebrand, the Herald of Demogorgon, had returned.

"What's with all the shocked looks? Did you really think a demon would stay down so easily? Tell me you aren't that stupid, please."

The gunmen stood in absolute shock, before a few fired their weapons at the demon.

"So, you are that stupid. Huh. Also, I'm not the only returning fighter at the trap you so easily fell for!"

Firebrand began to mutter in demonic tongue, and a white heart symbol rose from the portal to Hell the demon came from. The heart floated in front of Firebrand, who shouted an incantation in demonic tongue.

Dust rose from the soil, and began to swirl around the heart, eventually taking a solid form.

A piscine humanoid, clad in plate armor everywhere except the head, with blue scales, one fierce, yellow eye, an eyepatch, sharp teeth, and flowing, red hair formed, falling slightly to the ground, soon forming a spear of crackling blue energy in their right hand.

"Ya punks miss me?"

Undyne had returned.

The gunmen dropped their weapons and raised their hands to the sky.

Within a couple minutes, the police had arrived and arrested the gunmen. As they left, Firebrand spoke up.

"Well, since that shit's over, whaddya say you get to planning that wedding you had in mind, Undyne? Prove to the world your waifu is anything BUT trash."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys ready for several chapters of pure fluff and shenanigans?  
> BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL AM!


	32. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of Alphys and Undyne's wedding.

September 15, 20XX

Today was the wedding day.

I, myself was watching TV in the house of the brides-to-be, waiting on Alphys and Mettaton to finish up.

Eventually, the two finished, and came downstairs. Mettaton wore a spiffy, less-garish-than-I-expected suit, complete with tie. Meanwhile, Alphys...

"Sweet Demogorgon..."

The threads of her dress were specially woven to subtly include the Delta Rune, apparently a symbol heavily associated with monsterkind, up and down the arms. The dress was of roughly average tightness, seemingly, down to the waist, at which point it did that thing wedding dresses tend to do where the rest of the cloth forms a poofy dome of sorts that flows down so far it drags on the floor a bit. The whole thing was a deep blue color, just like...

I swear on Demogorgon if Undyne's dress is gold...

"H-how do I look?"

"Ama-" She twirled where she stood, and...

**Brimstone below, it was backless.**

I was stunned, no other way to describe it. My soul was screaming mixed messages at me, one part told me I could make excuses later. The other part went something like this.

_She's getting married, you idiot. She's getting married, you idiot. She's getting married, you idiot._

"F-firebrand? I-it's bad, isn't it?"

"NONSENSE! It's so amazing, I need to step outside before the lust embedded in my soul compels me to do something stupid!"

Alphys blushed scarlet at that, and I fled before she could reply properly.

**********

A couple hours later, I was at the site of the wedding. A fancy auditorium-like building not far from the street that most of the "main" monsters lived on. The mood was lively as monsters, humans, and even a few demons amicably chatted while awaiting the brides-to-be. Napstablook had some of his music playing, which only helped the lively mood. I, myself, was with the other demons present, discussing when we were going to follow through with my idea of playing music. (The other demons were mainly there because I talked to Demogorgon about the wedding, and he agreed to give me some backup for the music) We eventually decided to wait it out, and seize the moment when it showed itself.

Soon, Naptstablook adjusted the sound system, and it began to play a wedding march. The brides-to-be began to walk down the... center, hand-in-hand. Frisk was sprinkling rose petals everywhere, and Undyne's dress...

Was identical to Alphys's, except adjusted to suit her stature and gold instead of blue.

Those fucking nerds...

Once they reached the end of the path, Asgore read out all the ceremonial stuff (I don't have a very good understanding of weddings), vows were exchanged, and the couple kissed.

"Now, the brides shall participate in the Battle Dance.

Wait...

"The WHAT?"

"The Battle Dance." Undyne answered. "The married participate in what is essentially a mock battle crossed with a dance."

As she finished her sentence, the lights darkened, Asgore stepped away from the couple, and the floor below them began to flash varying colors.

I snapped my fingers, getting the attention of the other demons.

"Our time is now!"

We all ran behind Alphys and Undyne, and Imprak, who happened to be among the group Demogorgon sent, summoned our instruments and a mic stand. Everyone moved to their instruments (I was singer), while Imprak went to the back to prepare his magic for some pyrotechnics.

"Let's heat things up a little bit, no?"

With a few and gestures, Imprak caused gouts of hellfire to erupt from the corners of the stage.

"Also, do not attempt to derive any meaning from what I sing. If you did, the picture you'd create probably wouldn't be very pretty.

With a bit of magic hooking our instruments up to Napstablook's sound system, we began to play, while Alphys and Undyne started the Battle Dance.

During the opening instrumentals, I could see that their moves were a distinct mixture between elegant and menacing, Alphys's leaning the former direction, Undyne's the latter, however, I stopped paying attention as soon as the time for me to sing was upon me.

_YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_

_Fighting shadows,_

_In the Haunting Guise..._

_Smiting the wicked Baron,_

_Will unleash my might!_

At this point, I roared into the mic, probably startling everyone present. But I didn't care, as I was needlessly into it.

_When we face our final hour,_

_In the darkest Rift,_

_Come whatever may,_

_I'll be the death of you!_

_After channeling my power,_

_Your death will be swift!_

_Now there's nothing in my way,_

_You'll feel my Deathfire Grasp!_

My attention briefly returned to the dance. They had weapons locked, a spear for Undyne, and a staff for Alphys. The two's eyes met in a gaze somehow both competitive and loving. Regardless, time to sing some more.

_Clashing minions,_

_Ravaged fields of war..._

_Manifest my dominion,_

_Total chaos restored!_

_When we face our final hour,_

_In the darkest Rift,_

_Come whatever may,_

_I'll be the death of you!_

_After channeling my power,_

_Your death will be swift!_

_Now there's nothing in my way,_

_You'll feel my Deathfire Grasp!_

Now was the time for a lengthy instrumental break, and my attention once again wandered to the clashing lovers. Undyne seemed to have an advantage, but Alphys was far from done, meeting Undyne's elegant attacks with showers of sparks. As the combat grew close, the "dance" part of the ceremony became very apparent, the monsters twirling around eachother as attacks clashed. However, I was soon back on.

_When we face our final hour,_

_In the darkest Rift,_

_Come whatever may,_

_I'll be the death of you!_

_After channeling my power,_

_Your death will be swift!_

_Now there's nothing in my way,_

_You'll feel my Deathfire GraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!"_

I violently banged my head as the last of the instruments played, closing out as Imprak's flames subsided.

I turned to the "dance" floor, and Undyne seemed victorious.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song Used: Deathfire Grasp, by Pentakill


	33. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Battle-Dance over, Undyne confronts Firebrand about something. In addition, now that he's cutting loose on his demonic nature, the lust-sensing abilities inherent to Lust-Aspect demons are returning to Firebrand, and seeing use.

I got down from the stage and walked up to the newly-wed couple. Undyne had apparently won, but all 3 of us laughed about it while going to get drinks regardless.

As we walked, my gaze kept drifting to Alphys. No matter how many times I reminded myself that she just got married, my mind could not get over how stunning she looked in that dress.

Eventually, we all grabbed drinks and started downing them. A few minutes later, Undyne told me to follow her, and she led me a fair distance away from everyone else before slamming me against the wall.

"I know you love Alphy, hellspawn!"

"Didja figure it out on your own, or did someone tell you?"

"I saw the gazes you were giving my wife!"

"What can I say? Lust is written into my soul. Besides, what are you so angry about? You think I'm some kind of thief?"

"Yes."

"No way! I saw the looks she gave you way back when we were still underground! Besides, I don't want to learn what kind of consequences a demon-monster soul bond could have the hard way!"

She briefly fell silent, before laughing quietly.

"Alright, Brand. I'll trust you on this one. Now, about those drinks..."

With that done, we both went back to the group and got wasted.

_One week later..._

Alphys and Undyne were both heavily occupied with work, so I was hanging out with Sans, Toriel, and Frisk instead.

Puns.

So many fucking puns.

Every time someone (usually Sans) started, Toriel would make another pun of similar nature. After that, Sans or Frisk would make another followup pun.

It was some kind of accursed pun echo chamber.

Thankfully, after a particularly long string of puns was capped off by Toriel (the subject of the punstorm was electricity) Toriel and Frisk left for a reason I can't really remember.

I turned to Sans, who was looking in the direction Toriel had left in a rather... entranced manner.

My soul knew what that was.

The seeds of Lust. Well, at least what could become lust.

"You don't happen to have the hots for Toriel, do ya?"

Sans whipped towards me, cheekbones... glowing blue? That's how he blushes? Weird..."

"W-well..."

"Why am I asking, it's shockingly obvious that you goat quite the crush, here."

Sans stopped, laughed for a bit, and then spoke.

"ya got me. but, i'm probably not gonna act on it."

"Why not? For all we know, she could LOVE a trip to the Bone Zone."

Sans chuckled again, before replying. "yea, but a lazybones like me could never muster the effort to dedicate to a relationship. so i'm just gonna sit back. maybe she'll warm up to asgore or something."

"Guess we'll see, bone-boy."

_Another week passes..._

After a fire (that, oddly enough, had nothing to do with cooking) torched Toriel's house, she had got a new house, and was throwing a party as a result. After the party, when almost everyone was out cold, I came back from the bathroom to see Toriel looking at the asleep, shirtless Asgore in a... conflicted manner.

Oh, this was gonna be fun. I put on a nice, smug grin, and started tapping my claws against the wall, catching Toriel's attention.

"Chowing down on some eye candy, eh?"

Toriel jumped, blushing heavily. "N-no, I-"

"No purpose in lying, Toriel. Demons with Lust in their soul can sense the lust of others. I mean, I can sense Wrath in you, too, but it seems to be... receding. Besides, why not? Don't you think it would be nice for Frisk to have a proper father?"

"Yes, but I still feel-"

"Angry at him? Come on, woman. If you went up to him and brought it up, guy would probably leap at the call to get back together, besides, weren't you encouraging him to be hasty in killing people to break the barrier way back when?"

Toriel sighed in a conceded manner.

"I see your point... But why do you do this?"

"It amuses me."

Toriel stared at me, silent.

"What? Did you expect something more complex?"

The goat woman chuckled a bit, before saying she would consider asking Asgore.


	34. Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demogorgon has something for Firebrand.

It was late at night. I was getting ready to go to bed. Right as I was about to lay down, I could feel Demogorgon calling me.

A few minutes later, I was down in Hell, standing before my lord.

"Yes, Demogorgon, sir?"

"While this should of been done earlier, given your status as herald, combined with how Zerez was able to severely wound you, I have selected 2 potent demons to serve as your bodyguards. They shall now introduce themselves."

Two demons walked forward. One was a massive, around 9 feet tall, cyclops. with hooves, red skin, and a single, yellow eye. The other was a small, around Alphys's size, mantis-like creature with a pair of normal hands in addition to mantis claws, and two eyes, each slightly glowing a venomous green. The cyclops introduced themselves first.

"I am Moloch." His voice was deep, and rather similar to Asgore's. "I am a demon of Gluttony. It shall be a pleasure serving you, Herald." It felt nice to be referred to by such a title.

The mantis was next up. "I am Nergal." Nergal's voice had a moderately high-pitched rasp, and... she, apparently, subconsciously chittered to herself after finishing each sentence. "I'm a demon of Greed, and I ssshall enjoy making our enemiesss sssquirm! Or, at leassst protecting you, Herald."

"These two shall come to the surface tomorrow." Demogorgon promptly declared.

"Yes, milord." Both of the new demons replied almost simultaneously.

"For now, I believe that the three of you should get to know eachother. Preferably outside of my chambers.

As such, the other two and I left Demogorgon's chambers to chat. Apparently, Moloch and Nergal had been friends for a long time, which was part of the reason they were the two chosen. Regardless, Moloch described himself as having a distinct taste for mortal arts, literature in particular. Nergal said that she would always toy with the damned they were assigned to torment, repeatedly deceiving them before getting to the main act. She also said that said tendency translated into pranks when she was interacting with those she cared about. As for combat styles, Moloch used a mace in combination with offensive magic, while Nergal preferred stealth and sudden, lethal attacks.

After a few hours, we all parted ways, and waited for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moloch and Nergal will become recurring characters, and the next two chapters will focus on their interactions with the monsters.


	35. Moloch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moloch and Nergal come to the surface, and are introduced to the monsters. We get to see some of the day through Moloch's eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV Moloch

An alarm indicated the beginning of a new day, stirring Nergal and I from our slumber. Today was the day we would go to the surface to serve as bodyguards for Demogorgon's Herald, Firebrand.

"Well, come on, Nergal."

"Are you sssure we need to go thisss early?"

"We should not keep Firebrand waiting."

"Good point."

Nergal, as per the norm after she finishes her sentences, chittered to herself as we made our way to the point where Firebrand would meet us.

In a few minutes, we were at the point, and down came a certain draconic humanoid demon.

"Nergal! Moloch! How's it going?"

"Not much has happened."

"What he sssaid."

"Alrighty! Let's get to the surface, the monsters can't wait to see you two!"

Firebrand created a portal to the surface, leading into a home I presumed belonged to at least one of the monsters. All 3 of us headed up.

As the portal closed, I looked around to see monsters surrounding me. Two goats, a fish, a lizard, two skeletons, and... a human child. Must of been that ambassador I occasionally heard about.

"Introduce yourselves!" Firebrand prompted.

"I am Moloch." I responded, kneeling in respect to the monsters. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

One of the goat monsters, seemingly a female, was about to respond, but Nergal started introducing herself first.

"I am Nergal. I hope you will find my presssence on thisss here sssurface enjoyable."

"I'm sure we will, Nergal" The female goat responded.

After that, the monsters proceeded to introduce themselves. The female goat was Toriel. The other, male goat was Asgore. The fish was Undyne, the lizard Alphys, the skeletons Sans and Papyrus, and the human child Frisk.

With introductions over, the day moved on.

**********

I was sitting in the library that Asgore and Toriel's home apparently contained. The library had quite the selection of literature, mostly monster, but some human. I was currently reading Hamlet, as one of the books was a collection of William Shakespeare's works.

I was invested in what I was reading quite a bit, enough so that I barely noticed Asgore entering the room.

"Moloch. I did not expect you to be reading Shakespeare."

"I get that frequently. Must have something to do with my cyclopean form. One does not see intelligent cyclopes very often. But, I do have quite the taste for mortal literature. After I finish this play, I will probably read some monster literature."

"I would suggest this." Asgore grabbed a thick book from the shelf, its cover simply consisting of a shield bearing the Delta Rune, the apparent symbol of monsterkind. "This contains an expansive history of my kind. In other thoughts, would you like some tea?"

"Gladly."

Asgore walked out of the room, and returned with two cups of tea. He set one by me, while he took the other with him as he sat down. I briefly closed my book to take a sip. The tea was nice, warm, and quite good, indeed.

"You make fine tea."

"Thank you. It is made from a kind of golden flower that only seems to grow in the Underground. I have been making it for centuries."

"Plenty of time to hone the technique, as the taste blatantly shows."

Asgore chuckled to himself lightly. Afterwards, he grabbed a book and began to read, himself. All was silent as we both let ourselves get lost in the pages. That is, until Toriel's voice came ringing from outside.

"Dinner is ready!"

"DINNER?"

The Gluttony in my soul sang as I bolted for the source of Toriel's voice, just barely noticing Asgore's shock at my sudden burst of speed.

Within a few minutes, everyone present sat around the table as Toriel placed two pies, apparently Butterscotch Cinnamon in nature, in the center. I almost instantly reached out to grab a slice and shove it whole into my mouth, a truly beautiful flavor filling me as I voraciously chewed it.

"Manners, Moloch!" Toriel snapped.

"Fine..." I replied, rolling my eye.

"eye don't think toriel will stand for such ravenous acts, moloch." Sans hastily blurted out.

The entire room fell still, before everyone began to react to the pun. Toriel was laughing outrageously, Asgore, Alphys, Frisk, Firebrand, and Nergal were all lightly chuckling, Papyrus was screeching in incoherent anger, and Undyne and I facepalmed almost simultaneously.

"WHY MUST YOU RUIN EVERY MEAL, SANS?" Papyrus shrieked, only to be drowned out by Toriel's laughter, which was soon joined by Sans's. As the chaos continued, I noticed a black tentacle discreetly emerge from Nergal to grab a small, black disc that she must of hid in advance out from under a cabinet and place it on Toriel's chair.

Regardless, things eventually began to calm down, and Toriel went to sit down.

When she did, something strange happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did Nergal's disc thing do when sat on? Find out next chapter, when we get to see this day from Nergal's POV!  
> Also, I do hope I did a semi-decent job of establishing Moloch's character here. I would LOVE some feedback on whether or not I succeeded to at least some extent.


	36. Nergal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was Nergal doing the day she and Moloch were introduced to the surface?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV Nergal  
> Also, all S's in the narration will be held, jussst like how Nergal ssspeaksss.

With introductionsss over, I wasss off to sssee what it wasss like to live up with the monssstersss.

**********

I wasss sssitting on the couch in the living room, idly watching TV. Sssansss walked in the room within a few minutesss, and sssat next to me.

"hiya, nergal. it's nice having you on the surface." He held out hisss hand, probably offering a handssshake.

"Thanksss." I moved to ssshake hisss hand.

A farting noissse permeated the room.

After a few sssecondsss of sssilence, I fell to the floor in laughter.

"KYAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I could barely hear Sssansss chuckling to himssself asss I rolled on the floor laughing.

However, I sssoon recovered, and ssstood up to sssit back on the couch.

"guess you like pranks, too?"

"Hell yesss! If I'm not the only prankssster here, thisss will be an AMAZING time on the sssurface!"

**********

I wasss walking out of the kitchen, having hidden a sssmall black disssc under a cabinet to ussse for a prank later. I went walking into the next room, and sssaw a quarter on the floor.

The Greed in my sssoul leapt asss I dove for it, only for a bony hand to grab it firssst.

It wasss Papyrusss.

I ssshrieked at him, ssscaring him into dropping it, at which point I grabbed it.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, NERGAL?"

"Do not keep a Greed demon from their coinsss, Papyrusss."

"AT LEAST APOLOGIZE!"

"NEVER!"

I ssskittered away before he could ressspond further.

**********

Everyone wasss sssitting at the table, having jussst recovered from a pun sssansss made about Toriel ssscolding Moloch for hisss gluttonousss behavior. While everyone wasss laughing or facepalming, I ssslipped the black disssc I hid under the cabinet earlier onto the chair Toriel would sssit in.

Ssshe went to sssit down, and the disssc activated, harmlessly ssshocking her.

Ssshe jolted from her ssseat, looked down at her chair, and sssaw the disssc bearing a messsage.

**THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!**

**-NERGAL**

After a few sssecondsss of sssilence, ssshe glared at me. That alone wasss enough to sssend me, Firebrand, and Sssansss to the floor in laughter, and Moloch wasss chuckling, too.

Thisss wasss going to be an incredibly amusssing time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Nergal's S-Holding Isn't annoying.


	37. Happening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party accompanying Moloch and Nergal's arrival to the surface has ended. And in the following night, unknown to any of them, two events transpire that shall have major impact in their lives.

A middle-aged, albeit immensely muscular man sat on a park bench, watching the nature before him. However, a phone in his pocket soon began to ring, and he answered.

"Greetings."

"Hey," an enthusiastic, younger voice answered. "Grom, how's it going?"

"As average as always, Brazin."

"Any progress on finding a way to stop reincarnating?"

"None. And I grow more tired of life with each day."

"Stop being so down about it, Grom. You're stuck here, so you might as well enjoy it. Also, did you hear about how the barrier broke?"

"WHAT?"

"Yea. The barrier's been gone for a few months, now. And something's hunting us down, since Saris is dead and Naleera says that she's being stalked by something not human."

"If monsters are free, I guess there is one thing for me to do before I resume my pursuit of eternal rest. I shall make my way to Ebott, and atone for the sins I committed against monsterkind so many centuries ago."

"I'll try to get to Ebott, too. Probably to do the same thing, but mainly to see you again, Grom."

"We shall meet again, Brazin."

"Yes!"

Grom hung up, looking forward to the future.

**********

Two adult humans, both male, walked by Alphys and Undyne's unoccupied home in the dark of the night. One turned to the other.

"Hey, Gabe, wanna do that thing where we shine our flashlights into other people's windows to tick them off?"

"Eh, why not?"

The two ran over to one of the windows near the back of the home, and started shining flashlights through. The light illuminated several anime posters, and the fact that the window was slightly open, and there was a pile of miscellaneous objects precariously close to the slightly opened window. After a few minutes, it became apparent that the home was empty, as not a sound or other sign of any occupant came.

"Damn it." One of the humans muttered, lowering his flashlight.

"Don't worry, Kelly. This was- wait, what's that?"

The lowered flashlight had illuminated a small object that had fallen out the window and landed in the grass. It was a flash drive. Gabe bent over to pick it up, and read what was written on it.

**ALPHYS**

"Hey, Kelly, isn't Alphys that lizard scientist girl we saw on TV a lot over the past few weeks regarding monsters?"

"Yeah, man! Let's see what's on that flash drive!"

"We should put it back."

"Nah, c'mon! It could be something embarrassing or funny!"

"Fine..."

The two humans scurried away with the flash drive. Little did they know, the drive contained data that was far from just embarrassing, as indicated by what was written on the other side.

**DT RESEARCH**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's gonna go down.


	38. Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world will soon learn what happens when you truly enrage the Herald of Demogorgon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, suicide occurs in this chapter.

The day started so normally.

Me and Undyne were lounging around in her house, she was playing this game that Alphys had recently bought, while I spectated. What was it... Persona? Yes, Persona. The fifth one, I think.

Alphys herself was at work. The gym Undyne worked at had a gaping hole in its floor due to an accident involving the heaviest weights, so she had nowhere to go. Moloch and Nergal were both at the Dreemurr's, Moloch probably hanging out with Asgore, and Nergal with Papyrus. My two bodyguards had grown close to those respective monsters, for whatever reasons.

Regardless, we were having a great time, when Undyne's phone started vibrating. She pulled up a menu in the game, grabbed her phone, and held it up to her head.

"Hello? Okay!" She lowered her phone quickly, and turned to me. "Firebrand! Get us to the news!"

"Got it!" I grabbed the remote and quickly got the screen on the news.

"An anonymous source provided us with data from a flash drive apparently belonging to Dr. Alphys. The drive contains research regarding "Determination", and how she apparently experimented using it on dying monsters, only for the subjects to melt and fuse into abominations she dubs "Amalgamates"."

Both of our hearts skipped a beat.

"The leaked information has sparked public outcry against the doc-"

Undyne suddenly turned the TV off.

"We need to get to Alphys's workplace. NOW!"

Without a word, and with a bit of infernal magic, I opened a portal that would lead to her desk. We both sprinted into it. When we came out the other side, she wasn't there. We looked around us, and saw some of her coworkers.

"Where the hell is Alphys?" Undyne yelled before I could.

"She said for us not to tell anyone who came for her!"

Oh hell no.

I darted up to him, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up.

"Tell me everything you know, mortal! Alphys's life could be in danger, and this city will BURN if something happens to her!"

"She said she was heading for the roof!"

I let the man down, Undyne darted for the stairs, and I quickly followed. Eventually, we reached the roof, tailed by a few of Alphys's coworkers, who started following us when they noticed how panicked we had become. We looked forward and saw her.

Alphys was on the other end of the (rather large) roof, dangerously close to the edge, arms at her side, trembling as she looked ahead of her.

"ALPHY!" Undyne shouted, louder than I had ever heard her, and went sprinting, with me following suit.

Alphys must of heard us running, and turned to face us.

"D-don't you see the s-signs? T-they're all r-right! I n-need to d-die!"

Before any of us could respond, she jumped.

NO.

I jumped upward, thrashing my wings back to send me flying as fast as possible. As I reached the edge and started to fly down after her, I saw a crowd of people, humans and monsters, marching on the buildings, and their signs...

Demogorgon... The signs...

"MAD SCIENTIST"

"PLAYING GOD"

"MAKE HER PAY"

Somehow, my focus on catching Alphys's falling form was enough to stave off the red-hot Wrath building in my soul as I dove after her. But...

I wasn't quick enough.

She hit the ground, and was naught but a pile of dust in an instant.

I slammed into the ground beside her remains, leaving a little crater, and I knew what was going to happen.

I thought I wanted to tell these people to run, to hide, to save themselves.

But, deep down, I knew that was a lie.

I wanted to see them burn.

So, I let my Wrath consu-

**ALPHYS DEAD.**

**THEIR FAULT.**

**VENGEANCE.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be patient, dear readers. Things will end well next chapter


	39. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Herald's Wrath unleashed.

Undyne stood atop the building where Alphys worked, shattered. She knelt at the ledge her wife had just thrown herself off of, sobbing incoherently. The rest of the coworkers that had followed her to the roof had left, leaving her alone.

For a brief moment, she considered throwing herself off, too. Maybe she could find her love again in the afterlife. After all, she knew it existed, courtesy of a demonic friend.

However, she decided against it, thinking to Papyrus, and all her other friends. She even thought of how Alphys would hate it if she killed herself over her. As she raised her head, her attention was captured by a horrible scraping sound from below.

She looked down to see Firebrand, digging his claws into the earth beneath him as cracks opened in his body, spewing flames from within. All the while, the demon snarled incoherently, thrashing back and forth next to the dust that used to be Alphys.

The band of humans and monsters that had gathered with signs denouncing Alphys were now backing away in fear, slowly. After what seemed like forever, Firebrand ceased thrashing, and was now idle, on all fours, growling lowly. When one of the humans went to make a run for it, Firebrand lunged after them. In one swift motion, he ripped their head clean from their shoulders, held it skyward, and opened his mouth.

The noise that came out was the worst sound Undyne had ever heard. It was a howl, a deep, almost ear-splitting howl. One that called for nothing more than a massacre. And the demon got to that massacre, firing a stream of hellfire from his mouth that torched a bunch of unfortunate marchers. At that sight, Undyne withdrew to reenter the building, wanting to spare herself the carnage.

**********

Firebrand was on the warpath, cleaving and burning his way through every living thing in sight, without so much as a moment of hesitation. Most of the time, he killed quickly, but a quick slash of the claws, or a burst of hellfire. But, sometimes, he'd stop to execute someone. Ripping their head off, breaking their neck, tearing their heart out, drowning them in hellfire as they writhed and wailed in agony, the Wrath-consumed herald knew no mercy.

As he finished his latest victim, a short skeleton inexplicably appeared on the scene. Sans had seen Firebrand's rampage on the news. His right eye began to radiate blue light, and he held his hand out towards the raging demon. In the midst of pouncing on a new victim, Firebrand was suspended in the air, surrounded by blue light.

"the hell do you think you're doing?"

The demon thrashed against its restraints, snarling in frustration, before gaining just enough composure to speak.

**Alphys... Suicide!**

"i know, but that's no reason to go on a killing spree."

**They...**

Firebrand curled up a little.

**Take...**

The blue aura around the demon turned red.

**EVERYTHING!**

Firebrand violently whipped his limbs out, destroying his bindings and sending Sans flying away. As the skeleton faded from view, riot police arrived, and a heavily-armored officer attempted to deploy a taser.

The metal darts flew into the demon's flesh, sinking in before delivering their shock. The herald reared up from a yet-to-be-harmed monster victim, roaring in pain. As the monster fled, Firebrand lunged at the officer, tearing his helmet clean off before digging his claws into the officer's skull. It seems that Firebrand was intent in destroying just about anyone who hindered his rampage.

**********

Frisk was sitting in the Dreemurr home, watching the news. Their jaw dropped in horror as they watched Firebrand carve a bloody path through riot police. Feeling a power swelling within them, Frisk went over the events of the day.

Alphys is dead.

Sans is probably dead.

Countless humans and monsters are dead to Firebrand's vengeance.

A whole day in addition to the current one was more than enough to lose.

They RESET.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? It works out in the end.  
> Also, Frisk has been repeatedly saving in the background or something like that this whole time.


	40. Repeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day Moloch and Nergal came to the surface has been undone, and must happen again. However, with that undoing, comes Firebrand's chance to prevent the dire events of the day that caused the reset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one ended up a bit rushed. Sorry in advance.

**Vengeance.**

**Alphys Dead.**

**Their Fault.**

**Mus-** Wait, hold up.

I was now sitting up in my bed, feeling levels of Wrath I had never felt before drain from my body. I grabbed my phone from the side of my bed and checked.

It was the day Moloch and Nergal came to the surface. Frisk must have rewound time again. While redoing introductions would be obnoxious, this was my chance to stop Alphys's research from being leaked. But, to start, the two other demons.

I quickly went down to Hell to meet up with them. When I arrived, we started chatting about the events that had been undone. Moloch started.

"I can see your Wrath has subsided, Herald."

"Yep. Anyway, where were you two before things got reset?"

"We didn't know exactly where Alphysss's workplace wasss, ssso our portalsss there were off by a fair dissstance. We were unable to arrive in time to sssnap you out of your rampage."

"It's fine. It can be stopped before it can begin. Although, the monsters no longer know who you two are, so you two need to get introduced again. Afterwards, I'll handle protecting Alphys's research."

"Yes, Herald." Moloch responded dutifully.

"Yesss." Nergal hissed out in similar fashion.

With that, all three of us headed to the surface world.

Introductions went the same as before, albeit a bit smoother since everyone seemed to have retained a bit of understanding of Moloch and Nergal, like some form of Deja Vu. Regardless, as introductions ended, I asked Alphys if we could talk in private.

Once we were both in a room off to the side, I started.

"Does this day feel... familiar to you?"

"Y-yes. Why?"

"Frisk reset again."

"I h-had a feeling t-that might have b-been the case. B-but why?"

"Well, the details of your determination research were leaked, people were marching on your workplace with signs decrying you, you killed yourself in plain view of both me and Undyne, Undyne was probably emotionally shattered, and I went on a Wrath-driven rampage, bathing the city in blood and hellfire."

Alphys was silent as I explained, clearly having not remembered this reset, before suddenly sobbing.

"Wait, Alphys, someone might-"

"ALPHY?"

"-hear us..."

Undyne came storming into the room, glaring at me.

"The FUCK did you say to Alphy, hellspawn?"

"Should we tell her everything?" I asked Alphys.

The lizard silently nodded.

I quietly closed the door, and we both explained to Undyne the details about resets in general and the one that just happened. Her expression got more and more horrified as we went on, with her probably being on the verge of tears most of the time.

"I-is there any way we can s-stop it?" Undyne barely managed to whisper.

"Depends. Alphys, how do you think people got their hands on your data?"

"I k-keep it in a f-flash drive. I t-think it's in a c-cluttered pile near a w-window. Must have f-fallen out."

"Alright. When we're done here, you go home and put that drive somewhere safe."

"G-got it."

And just like that, the day passed as normal, and tomorrow did not lead to a suicide nor a massacre. 


	41. Herald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firebrand is called upon to fulfill his role as Herald, as Demogorgon has something to say to the mortal world. Afterwards, with the crisis regarding Alphys's research resolved, life marches onward, unburdened.

As I headed home after resolving how to deal with the research leak problem with Alphys and Undyne, I could feel Demogorgon calling to me, so I headed straight to Hell.

As I approached my lord, I knelt before him.

"What is thy will, milord?"

The Lord of Hell's two heads both fixated on me, as intimidating as usual, before his face softened a little.

"There is no need for such proper tone, Firebrand."

I stood up, stretching a little as I did.

"Nice! Anyhow, what do you want?"

"I desire to disgorge a piece of information to the mortal world tomorrow. Given your position as herald, you will foretell my coming."

"Got it."

"Rest down here tonight. We head up together in the morning."

"Alright."

With that, I exited Demogorgon's palace and found a place to sleep.

**********

When I stirred from my slumber naturally, I immediately headed for Demogorgon, who was standing before a portal soon to open.

"Is the time now?"

"Yes. You go now, and I will follow within a few minutes."

With that, I headed for the mortal world. I emerged from the ground in the middle of the street my surface home is on.

"Hey, mortals! Demogorgon is coming! So wake up, stand up, and pay attention! The Lord of Hell's got a reason to pay you all a visit!"

Gradually, people began to exit their homes. I could actually see all of my monster friends in the escalating crowd, along with two humans who, just by the feeling I got when I looked at them, I could tell were Moloch and Nergal in human disguises. Why they had donned disguises, I don't know. Regardless, I could soon feel a huge surge of infernal magic behind me. I didn't need to turn around in order to know that Demogorgon had made his grand entrance. The trembling of the Earth and the looks on the mortals' faces were more than enough of an indicator.

Soon, Demogorgon's thundering voice began.

"Greetings, mortals. I have come to inform you of a simple change. Compared to what they were before, the punishments the damned endure in Hell have become more severe. How severe they were before, I shall leave ambiguous."

Demogorgon turned his back to the crowd, which (inevitably) had ultimately began to include at least one news crew, before speaking once more.

"Take this as you will."

With that, he walked into the portal, which closed behind him in a grand show of crimson light.

After several hours of varied reactions to Demogorgon's appearance, things settled down, and I found myself at Toriel's with Alphys, Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus. I was hanging out with Alphys and Undyne when Toriel called Undyne to tell her that she wanted the couple over at her house for a meeting of some sort. I just decided to tag along.

When we were all there, Toriel started.

"Plans have recently been finalized for the opening of a fully integrated human/monster school! Would any of you like to be teachers or other faculty?"

"I CALL GYM TEACHER!" Undyne roared out almost instantly. "The gym I worked at before might get shut down soon, anyway. Besides, I'd love to teach a bunch of little punks!"

"I w-would be a science teacher, but my current r-research job has me occupied..."

"I am sure we could find some time for you, Alphys."

The lizard silently smiled a little in reply.

"i'm up for subbing or something, if it's necessary."

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS COULD MAKE A MOST EXCELLENT FACULTY MEMBER! WHICH KIND... I'M NOT SO SURE..."

Toriel silently nodded, before turning to me, a little surprised.

"Oh! I did not notice you had tagged along, Firebrand! Would you like to do anything?"

"I was thinking I could be a sort of co-teacher with Undyne, or some other sort of secondary supervisor for the kids."

"That could most likely be arranged."

With that, we all started talking a bit more about what all could happen with this shiny, new school.

All I knew right then was that the kids were in for one hell of a gym class. 


	42. Intermission: Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grom and Brazin arrive in Ebott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for you, Joyce.

On the same day, a plane and a ship arrived in Ebott. Both carried numerous passengers, but two, one from each vessel, were of particular notability.

On the plane was a young man, about 25 or so, with short brown hair, pale skin, and green eyes. They were lean, yet muscular, with the toned nature of their body contrasting with their relatively thin frame.

This man was Brazin, the fighter of the Barrier Mages.

On the ship was an older man, about 67, with gray hair tied into a warrior's tail, tanned skin, and one eye scarred shut, the other open and hazel. The man was a sight to behold, still bearing menacing muscles even with his relatively old age.

This man was Grom, the berserker of the Barrier Mages.

As the two disembarked, they immediately head for an old tree that they had frequented far in the past. As the tree in question was of a kind known to live for incredibly long periods, it was still standing.

As soon as the two met, they made their way towards each other, Brazin moving far faster than Grom.

"GROM!"

"Brazin."

The fighter charged forth and lunged at his old friend, hugging him.

"Now, now." Grom started, patting Brazin on the head. "No need to be sentimental."

"But it's been so long, old pal!"

Grom chuckled lightly.

"I know, I know. Regardless, we mustn't waste time. I wish that we make our purpose known quickly."

Brazin pulled away from the hug to simply stand before Grom.

"Alright... But can we get one good drink? For old time's sake?"

Grom again chuckled lightly.

"Of course!"

Brazin's eyes lit up as he threw both of his fists into the air.

"YES! AHAHAHAHA!"

Grom chuckled a third time as he walked off in search of a bar, Brazin close behind.


	43. "Reunion"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grom and Brazin run into Asgore and Toriel.

It was another bright, warm day in Ebott, and the Hartman-Grillby's bar was hosting its fair share of patrons, human and monster alike. Among these patrons were two notable figures, the Fighter and Berserker of the barrier mages.

The pair had already sat down, and were enjoying some light drinking together while talking about recent events in their lives.

"... imagine their shock when the slim guy turned the rock behind him into a sword and shield! Ahahaha! I can hardly think about it without at least giggling a bit!"

Grom snickered lightly in response, but also added: "Keep it down, Brazin. We don't want anyone overhearing us and learning of our... status."

Brazin froze up momentarily, before drooping.

"Oh. Shit..."

Grom grabbed a pitcher of beer and slid it towards his friend. "Why don't we keep quiet over some more drinks?"

"Hell yeah, man!" Brazin gleefully replied.

With that, the pair kicked back and started drinking some more.

**********

Asgore and Toriel were also at that bar, as they had decided to reunite for Frisk's sake. Although, they were not there for any alcohol. Rather, the pair enjoyed some of the bar's food, such as the wings, which had particularly struck Asgore's fancy.

As the two monsters ate and made small talk, a sharp feeling of dread washed over Asgore.

"Tori..." Asgore started, his voice shaking slightly. "Something feels wrong."

"How so?" Toriel asked in response.

"I feel as if I am in the presence of something terrible, something I thought I would never see again..." As he spoke, a realization suddenly hit Asgore like a bolt of lightning, filling his soul with both fear and fury.

"Mage."

Toriel put her hands over her mouth in shock.

Asgore scanned the room, wondering just who could be the mage among the crowd, and his soul eventually pointed him to not one, but two individuals. A muscular, older man with white hair and a scarred eye, and a thin, younger man with brown hair and pale skin.

Dear god, there were two mages.

"Those two, over there." Asgore whispered, discreetly pointing at the other pair. his other hand clenching as flames began to ignite on it.

In response, Toriel put a hand on Asgore's shoulder and whispered: "Gorey, calm down. There has to be a reason they are just enjoying themselves. Even if they were trying to get into a good spot to attack, they have already accomplished that, and yet they are not attacking, we should just talk to them, preferably outside. For all we know, they might not even be mages to begin with."

The flames subsided from Asgore's hand as he took a deep breath. "You're right."

With that, the two monsters got up and walked up to the supposed mages.

"Howdy! You two remind me of people I've seen before, and I felt like making sure of that outside." Asgore calmly stated.

The older man looked briefly confused, before realization struck. "I see. Come along, friend." The older man gestured at his younger companion to follow as all four went outside.

**********

Once everyone had walked to a quiet part of the street, Grom started.

"The prince lives."

Asgore chuckled lightly in response. "Well, King now, but it is little more than a title on the surface."

"I had honestly expected you to be one of many who fell down in the immediate aftermath of the Barrier's creation." Grom continued. "It is a pleasant surprise to see a monster old enough to remember pre-war times alive."

"Is the Hammer of Justice still around?" Brazin butted in.

"Gerson? He retired, but he is alive." Toriel replied.

"Nice! He was the most fun I ever had fighting someone!" Brazin went on, beaming.

 "Just wait until you meet Undyne..." Toriel dryly trailed off.

Brazin grinned even wider at the thought of a foe more worthy than Gerson.

"Now, on to more important manners." Grom interjected. "Brazin and I, Grom, come to Ebott to atone for the sins of the past by assisting your race. We wish to stop those who would see history repeat, and your kind be sealed away once again, or worse. So, are you willing to forgive us?"

Asgore and Toriel both silently nodded in approval.

"It was that easy?" Grom blurted out, shocked.

"Tori here has taught me a thing or two about not clinging onto grudges." Asgore replied, laughing a little. "Anyhow, we should get to introducing you two to other important figures."

The two mages nodded, and all four were off.

**Author's Note:**

> I live to see my inbox bearing a number greater than 0. Love it? Hate it? Say something.  
> Also, point out mistakes.


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